Secrets Near & Dear
by Mat49324
Summary: Joint fic #6 w/ The Blue Time Ranger. Alex, Clover, and Mat have been spy-napped by James and is holding them hostage in Europe, and will only release them if Sam agrees to reconcile; however, that may be the least of Sam's problems, knowing that the spies' moms are vacationing there. What's going to happen? Read and find out. Credit jettmanas for the cover.
1. A Vision of Vengeance

**11:59 AM – Somewhere in Europe**

No one bothered to look his way, engrossed in whatever they were doing.

And to be honest, that was perfectly fine to him. It allowed him to debate on plans that he'd been cooking up ever since escaping from that wretched prison.

But how exactly to go about it?

As fate would have it, a trio of voices caught his attention, and he turned around to notice three very familiar-looking women walking by, gabbing away about their recent purchase.

"Wait, are those...?" James wondered, only to correct himself in that these women were probably the spies' mothers.

But what were they doing here?

All of a sudden, a wicked plan began to form in his head.

"This is going to be fun," James cackled. He _could_ just go after their mothers, since they were _right there_, but even James knew that would be too easy.

He was already forming ideas on how he could take his revenge on the spies _and_ make Sam pay for spurning him at the same time.

And, sure enough, he already knew just how he'd do that.

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(The pages constantly turn, no matter how long the reader takes. When one story ends, another story will inevitably start. In the end, there is only a new beginning.)

**Mat49324** and **The Blue Time Ranger** are proud to present:

_Totally Spies!: __Secrets Near and Dear_

**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**Story Created:** November 13th, 2019

**Story Summary:** The sixth joint project between Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger. It seems like things are finally calming down after the spies' harrowing adventure in Tokyo, but alas, no such luck. On what seems like a relatively normal day, three of the spies are kidnapped by an old enemy of the spies, one Sam had hoped she would never see again. Now, James will only release his hostages if Sam gets back together with him, but Sam knows she'll _never_ do that, so the only other option is a good old-fashioned search and rescue. However, this may lead Sam and Alex to realize that their parents _still_ don't know they have boyfriends. Will they be able to spill the beans, or is the secret already out?

**Author's Note from The Blue Time Ranger: **Story six is a go! We've had this one in the planning for a little while, and it's one I'm looking forward to. In case you missed it, I _seriously_ hate James from "Evil Boyfriend" and the lengths he went to in order to break apart the spies. So, Mat and I naturally decided to make James the villain of our next project. Oh, I'm gonna enjoy taking this jackass down a peg...

Also, in case you guys wanted a refresher, here's the stories Mat and I have done together in chronological order:

1) Music Monster Much? (on my profile)

2) Beyond the Looking Glass (on Mat's profile)

3) Disillusioned Memories (on my profile)

4) Affairs of the Heart (on Mat's profile)

5) Shattered Memories (on my profile)

6) Secrets Near and Dear (on Mat's profile)

**Author's Note from Mat49324: **We're definitely going to have a ton of fun with this. This formed in my mind for quite a while. Oh, and if you haven't already, please see my TS one-shot on my profile titled "Totally Ice Cold". I'm sure that'll make some memories come back because I remembered back when the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge became an immediate craze across the USA. It may have been from 5 years ago, but I felt it was a nice flashback for you all.

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger do not own anything related to Totally Spies or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Marathon Media Group, Image Entertainment Corporation, Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, and David Michel. The only things of this story we DO own are any characters created by us truly for the story (in this case, Nick, Haruka, Bridget, May, Nozomi, Dawn, and Melissa on my side, and Mathew on his side). Any characters or things we don't own, we are just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of our readers. Besides, if we _did_ own Totally Spies, which we _don't_, why would we be writing fiction on a fan site?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Episode 1: A Vision of Vengeance

(From **Mat49324**)

**1:00 PM – Beverly Hills (Spies' Neighborhood)**

It was a sunny Monday afternoon after all twelve spies had saved May Iwakura's parents on the previous mission in Japan. Clover, Mat, and Nozomi were just about to leave the market for the beach house. Clover and Nozomi were shopping for some food for tonight; Mat was, too, and also included two nice cards and a bunch of roses in his list of things.

"So, I think that's everything," said Nozomi to Clover and Mat.

"Yeah, should be," said Clover, doing a count in her head.

After all got everything paid for, the three left the checkout counter for the walk home.

"So, who're the cards for, Mat?" Clover asked. "Your parents back home?"

"No, not at all," said Mat. "One of which is for Sam – and so are the roses – pretty sure you might know why."

"Uh-huh," said Nozomi with a slight giggle.

"You and Sammy making it official as an item," said Clover, chuckling and rolling her eyes.

"You saw us outside, then?" Mat asked.

"Thanks to Haruka, mainly," Nozomi answered. "So what about your second card, Mat?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked," said Mat. "I'm also in the process of finishing up a handwritten letter to Ernesto Fonseca to send in the mail to him. I wanted to get a card as well and not just my letter."

"Ernesto... wasn't he one of your Supercross heroes who got hurt earlier this year?" Clover asked.

"Before the Daytona Supercross, yeah," said Mat. "Which leads me to ask this: I included this in my letter, but we're all thinking of him – at least I am – and I was going to ask if you guys wanted to sign my card to him, too?"

"No doubt about it," said Nozomi. "I'll definitely sign it."

"Totally!" Clover exclaimed. "When are you sending it?" She then asked.

"Uh... probably later today since I'm almost finished writing my letter," Mat answered. "I was also gonna ask the others if they wanna sign it, too."

"Do you know where to send it?" Nozomi asked.

"Uh-huh," said Mat with a nod. "He's at a hospital in Colorado. The word is Ernesto has feeling and he's able to use his cell phone – they reported that on the Vegas Supercross finale."

"That's cool you're reaching out to people, Mat," Clover commented. "I have to say some of those guys out there _are_ easy on the eyes... but not as much as my French baguette dreamboat."

Nozomi and Mat rolled their eyes at the broken record Clover was being about the French baguette guy.

"I agree with Clover, Mat," said Nozomi. "Sam told us you're 'nice by nature', and you sure show it."

"Thanks, girls," said Mat. "You guys know Supercross is my heart and soul, but I like reaching out to guys like them, especially when just about every guy out there influences kids at a young age; I was one of those kids. Jeremy McGrath, the legend, was one of _MY_ biggest influences, right next to Chad Reed and Ricky Carmichael."

"So, did Fonseca ever win any races?" Clover asked.

"12 in the 125cc class – and two 125cc Supercross titles – the 125cc East in 1999 and the 125cc West in 2001 – and he won one race on the 250: Arnhem, Holland 2003 – one of my favorite races ever in nine and a half years of following Supercross," Mat answered.

Sometime later, the three of them came home to the beach house.

"Holy geez," said Mat at the sight he saw.

Clover and Nozomi got a look at what Mat was seeing. What was it? Bridget and Haruka were in their swimsuits (both two-pieces) and washing the spies' car, but it looked like they were trying to get each other wet with the hose.

"That was _cheap_, Bridget!" Haruka exclaimed, trying to aim precisely, even if it was becoming harder to do the more her vision was swamped with water.

"Hey, all's fair in love and water hose fights," Bridget laughed, rolling to the side just before Haruka fired again.

"I _know_ you're there," Haruka proclaimed, stepping towards the front of the car to attack...

...only to find nobody there.

Haruka's confusion was only met by a loud squeak as Bridget came up from behind and blasted her in the back.

"Yeah, but can you _see_ me?!" Bridget exclaimed.

"This is tripping me out," Nozomi quipped.

"Is it safe, girls?" Mat asked when Bridget stopped using the hose on Haruka.

"Finish the job, girls or you just goofing off?" Nozomi asked, chuckling inside.

"Yeah, we're just about done," Haruka sighed. "We had _just finished_ when Bridget over here decides to hit me with a sneak attack."

"Then Haruka just gave me that look of 'oh, it's _on_ now', and the rest is pretty much history," Bridget giggled.

"What's... going on?" asked Haruka.

"Mat's sending a card to one of his Supercross heroes," said Clover.

"Ernesto Fonseca – the one who got hurt before Daytona; Clover and Nozomi have agreed to sign it, too," Mat continued on. "You girls wanna sign it, too? I'm gonna mail it later today."

"Sure thing," said Haruka.

"Totally," said Bridget.

"I'll be right by the TV finishing my letter whenever you're ready," Mat reminded them as he went into the house with Clover and Nozomi.

When all three went into the house, Nick and Britney happened to be walking downstairs at just the right moment. They saw the three of them and came to help unload the things before either one of them could ask.

"Thanks, guys," said Mat.

"No prob, bro," Nick replied.

"By the way," said Britney. "Sam's napping on the couch, so just keep a little quiet if you're gonna be downstairs – just a heads up."

"Oh, thanks," said Clover. "Where's Alex and everybody?"

"Upstairs," said Nick. "She and I are Smashing again."

"We're watching," said Britney. "It's getting interesting."

"Hey, are you looking forward to any newcomers in Brawl?" Nozomi asked.

"Alex was curious about how Snake's going to play," Nick quipped. "I'm honestly curious myself, considering, you know, that Metal Gear's all about stealth and Smash is a fighting-slash-party game..."

A squeal from upstairs, thankfully not loud enough to disturb Sam, caught Nick's attention. "And I'm willing to guess that was May freaking out at the Snake reveal."

(Mat's P.O.V.)

I had to admit that hearing Sam was napping on the couch gave me a bit of an idea.

"Coming, Mat?" Clover asked.

"No, I gotta finish my letter," I answered.

I then told Britney and Nick and asked both about signing the card I planned to send to Ernesto Fonseca in the mail. Haruka and Bridget plan to sign it.

"Does that mean we can sign it, too?" Britney asked.

"Only if you want to," I replied.

"Then that's a definite yes, bro," Nick quipped.

"Okay," I said, then handing my card to Britney. "Can you check with the others, too, about signing it?"

"Yeah, no problem," said Brit.

"So, how close are you to finishing your letter?" Clover asked me.

"I got about one or two more things to write in and then I'll be done," I answered.

After I wrote in my card to Sam, I left that and the roses in her room on her bed. I then found my letter to Ernesto Fonseca in my room and decided to finish it downstairs. I sat down on the floor and began to finish writing. When I did get close to finishing, I snuck a look at my sleeping girlfriend. I had to admit Sam looked _so_ cute when she was asleep. It was tempting to stop what I was doing and possibly kiss her, but I resisted.

A few minutes later, I finally did finish my letter to Ernesto Fonseca and decided to make a move on the sleeping Sam.

_This is honestly way too tempting to not do,_ I thought.

I put my pen and my letter down and tiptoed over to Sam. Nobody was around, which was good. Making sure to be quiet, I got to my knees and planted a very soft kiss on Sam's lips. I grinned when she didn't wake up. Maybe I could get away with it. I turned my back and quietly made my way back to where I was sitting.

Seconds later, I felt my wrist being grabbed and I gasped. I looked behind to see Sam was wide awake.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Sam asked me with a smirk.

I had trouble forming a sentence.

"I'm waiting, Mat," said Sam. I finally found a way to form a sentence.

"Okay, okay, you were sleeping and it was too tempting to not do what I did," I admitted.

"Kiss me while I was asleep like Sleeping Beauty?" Sam deduced. "Or do what I did to you two missions ago?"

"Oh come on, it was too hard to resist," I reasoned as I sat next to her. "Even IF it was a bit of a role reversal this time around..."

"Did I say I didn't like it?" Sam rhetorically asked.

"Well, I'm hoping you _did_ like it," I quipped as I embraced my love.

"Of course I did," said Sam with a smile and a chuckle.

Before long, the two of us got a little busy with a quick kissing session.

"You were so sweet," Sam purred at me.

We pecked two more times before we heard...

"Mat, we signed your... card," said Haruka and cracked a smile when she saw Sam and I holding each other. "I'm interrupting, am I?"

"...nope," I said. "Thanks, Haruka."

She put my card down near me. On a different note, I had to admit it was a little hard not to look at Haruka in a bikini.

"Bridget and I are gonna use the pool," Haruka continued. "You lovebirds coming?"

Sam and I rolled our eyes at the lovebirds comment and gave a chuckle.

"Give us a few minutes," said Sam.

Haruka then went away. I was about to go get ready, but Sam stopped me for some reason.

"Mat, what's going on?" asked Sam. "What's Haruka talking about, and did I hear something about a 'letter', too?" She continued, thinking I might be backing out of the promise I made her – which I wasn't. No way in _hell_.

"I just finished writing a letter to Ernesto Fonseca," I said to Sam, being straightforward. "And I just bought a card today. Some of the others have signed it, too. I was going to ask you – Britney said you were sleeping, so I didn't want to disturb you, so I decided to finish my letter while I waited for you to wake up."

"Oh, that's good," Sam quipped. "I don't know why I was worried."

"Really, Sammy," I said. "I'm as straight as they come. You're the _first_ girl I've been in a relationship with... ever. Besides my mom, why would I write to another woman anyway?"

"I never doubted you, Mat," said Sam as our hands intertwined. "And I'll sign your card, too."

"Oh, thanks, Sammy," I said as I handed Sam my card to Ernesto Fonseca and the pen I used to finish up my letter. "I told Clover and Nozomi this, but we're all thinking of Fonseca – at least I am anyway – after his paralyzing injury before Daytona."

I even let Sam read what I wrote as we went upstairs to get changed together. I'd written that I'd met Fonseca before when he came to Hawaii, how old I was at the time, and what has happened with me since then – moving to Beverly Hills, and living with Sam, Clover, and Alex, not to mention Nick and the others.

It was nice to see Sam agree with me that we were all thinking of Fonseca. Then again, she's my girlfriend, of course she would agree with me, right?

As soon as we got upstairs, I gave Sam another smile for the other surprise I had up my sleeve that I didn't say one word about.

(Sam's P.O.V.)

The first thing I saw when we reached my room was the beautiful bouquet of roses on my bed alongside another card.

I walked over to pick up the card, anxious to see what Mat had written in it.

_To my dearest Sammy,_

_I know this is probably a cliché way to say this, but what the hey, I'm a sucker for the classics. You know how much I love you, Sam, so, well, I just wanted to say it again. I love you, Sam, and I always, ALWAYS will._

_Love always,_

_Mat_

I came outside my room in my pink swimsuit (from "Here Comes the Sun") to see Mat all ready to swim, too. He must've seen my big grin because he was already on to what I was about to say to him.

"Oh, good, you found my surprise," said Mat. "If you thought I forgot all about you, you were crazy!"

"Seriously, Mat, you are _such_ a sweetheart," I giggled.

"Only for my true love," said Mat as we descended the stairs, hands intertwined. "I love you, Sam."

"I love you, too, Mat," I said back to him as we shoulder-hugged.

A minute later, we were in the backyard where Haruka and Bridget were. Haruka was tanning with her top unhooked while Bridget was cooling off in the water. Haruka saw Mat and I and gave a grin.

"We're here," I said.

"If I must say, Haruka," said Mat. "You look good in a two-piece. I bet Nick's had a hard time not staring a time or two," he complimented as Haruka hooked her top back on.

I chuckled a bit at Mat's statement; I was curious to see what Haruka would say.

"Yeah, I caught him staring at least a couple of times," Haruka giggled.

"Hey, she's an old friend of mine, so it's hard not to stare sometimes," Nick quipped as he and Alex joined the group.

"Any particular time you remember?" asked Bridget.

Mat and I seemed interested, too.

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"Well, honestly, there _was_ that one-OOF!" Haruka started before being interrupted. That last "OOF" was brought about by May, wearing an orange two-piece swimsuit, literally _lunging_ from the nearby door to tackle Haruka from behind, sending them both collapsing into the pool.

"Well, May's done with Smash for the moment," Nick teased.

May was the first to resurface, a wide and bright smile adorning her face. "Ah, I've _always_ wanted to do that," May giggled.

"Welcome to the beach house club, then," Sam laughed. "That's happened to pretty much everyone here by now, so consider it a rite of passage for this house, heh."

"Why did it have to be _me_, though?!" Haruka sputtered once she'd resurfaced.

"You were the closest target," May quipped. "And no way was I tackling Nick and getting away with it since Alex is _right there_, and Sam and Mat are too adept at dodging, since they've been doing this here longer than us. So, you were the easiest one."

"It seems to _always_ be me, doesn't it?" Haruka sighed.

"Well, unless you wanna try and _dunk_ me," May challenged.

"Oh, it's _on_!" Haruka shouted, rushing towards May as fast as the pool would allow her.

"Gotta catch me first!" May laughed, already on the defensive.

"It's good to see that May's doing all right now," Mat stated. "I was honestly worried after everything that happened in Japan."

"I think she realized that Johnny would want her to be happy with her life and not mourn him forever," Nick answered as he watched May dive under Haruka and grab her by the legs to pull her underwater. "May and I had a talk the other night about what Johnny had meant to her, and we both came to the conclusion that it'd be best for May to just live her life."

Alex walked up and put her arms around Nick even as Haruka and May continued to have their water battle.

"You really are a great friend, Nick, you know that?" Alex stated.

"You've all told me that a lot, I'm sure," Nick laughed as he and Alex moved to kiss each other.

**11:32 PM – The Spies' Beach House**

Once again, Nick found himself awake due to a strange noise.

Noting that it was becoming a pattern at this point, Nick hopped out of his bed and decided to go investigate.

After finding nothing out of place upstairs, Nick decided to move downstairs...

...until he saw Alex's door open slightly.

Knowing for a fact that this was unusual, Nick doubled back and slowly peeked into Alex's room, just in case...

...only to find nobody there, alongside a very disheveled bed.

Now suitably on edge, Nick prepared to go alert the other spies, only to bounce into a sleepy May on his way.

"Oof, sorry, May," Nick stated.

"S'okay," May giggled. "I was the one who bonked you. What's up, Nick? Can't sleep?"

"Something's wrong," Nick responded, which quickly put May on alert as well. "Alex isn't in her room, and her bed's messed up, too. She would never leave it like that."

"Yeah, that counts as suspicious," May proclaimed. "I'll go get Clover."

"And I'll go find Sam," Nick answered.

However, just as Nick was about to knock on Sam's door, May came racing back upstairs, looking slightly panicked. "Clover's not in her room either!" May exclaimed. "And the bed's been messed up, just like with Alex!"

"Okay, now we've officially graduated to 'problem'," Nick responded. "I'm waking Sam up."

Before Nick could knock on her door, though, he heard crying first. Which usually meant something was wrong.

"Sammy, what's the matter?" Nick asked as he quickly opened Sam's door.

"Mat's gone!" Sam sobbed. "I woke up to get some water, and he wasn't there! You know he would never just leave me hanging like that!"

"All right, Nick, I think this is getting out of hand," May proclaimed. "I'm gonna go wake everyone else up. This just turned into an emergency."

"Good idea," Nick replied, taking Sam's hand so he could lead her downstairs while May moved to wake the rest of the spies up.

When they got to the living room, Nick was the first to notice that a hand-written note was lying on the table in the center of the room.

"What's the big fracas about, you guys?" Bridget asked, rubbing her eyes as she tried to wake herself up.

"Yeah, it's pretty late," Nozomi responded after a yawn. "Clover didn't pull a hair by accident again, did she?"

"Yeesh, I remember that," Haruka quipped. "Almost felt like a sonic death ray..."

"Clover's gone, you guys," Nick proclaimed, snapping everyone's attention to him. "And so are Alex and Mat, apparently."

"Wait, _what_?!" Britney exclaimed. "Were they kidnapped or something?!"

Nick moved to retrieve the note on the table. "I suspect we're about to find out," Nick replied as he read the note out loud.

_I'm sure by now that you've found three of your precious spy friends missing, haven't you, Sam? Well, they're officially my hostages now, and if you ever want to see them again, I have but one request. Come back and be with me, and all will be forgiven. You don't deserve this dolled-up pretty boy anyway. I'll be in Europe, awaiting your decision. You have three days, Sam. Don't keep a guy waiting._

"Wait, does this nutball know Sam for some reason?" May asked.

Sam, however, had adopted an expression that seemed to be half grief and half murderous. "I'm pretty sure I know who sent us this note," Sam growled, retrieving her X-Powder and scrolling through a database of baddies the spies had put away until it stopped on one person in particular, the very face alone sending a surge of hatred through Sam's body.

"James," Nick proclaimed. Even though he'd never seen him in person, Nick had been told about James by Sam a while ago. "I hoped I'd never hear that son of a bitch's name ever again."

"Hold on, why would he kidnap just Alex, Clover, and Mat?" Nozomi asked, a little confused. "From what you guys told me about him, I figured he'd want to get revenge on _you_, Sammy."

"He's probably going after our loved ones," Haruka replied. "Rules for villains, number fifty-four: when planning revenge, always go after people that your target considers precious or dear to them. It's a scummy move, but it's there."

"I hate being reminded of what he did to me, but I _despise _him trying to separate me from my friends," Sam proclaimed. "And like _hell_ I'm _ever_ reconciling with that _damn sleazeball_ after everything he put me through!"

"Then I guess the only other option available is a good ol' search and rescue!" May exclaimed. "No way in _heck_ are we gonna leave our friends in the lurch!"

"May's right," Nick proclaimed, his psychic aura flaring to life. "James just made this personal. And I swear to you, Sammy, he's going to _regret_ the day he _ever_ crossed us."

After suiting up, the nine spies exited their house so Nick could encase them all in a psychic bubble that he lifted into the air and began to guide towards W.O.O.H.P. in the distance.

**12:05 AM – W.O.O.H.P. Headquarters, Jerry's Office**

Naturally, Jerry was surprised to see the spies walking into his office, considering how he normally summoned them.

And that immediately tipped Jerry off that something was not right.

"It's a surprise to see you here this late, spies," Jerry proclaimed. "Is everything all right?"

"I wish I could answer that question with a yes, Jerry," Sam replied.

"Another one of our old foes came crawling out of the shadows and kidnapped Alex, Clover, and Mat," Nick explained. "Remember _James_?"

"I had hoped _that_ particular rapscallion would never escape," Jerry responded.

"Nice to see you hate him as much as we do, Jer," Britney laughed. "James said he's in Europe, and he'll only give our friends back if Sam gets back together with him."

"But since that's obviously _never_ going to happen, we decided that we need to mount a rescue operation," Nozomi answered. "So we came to you as quickly as we could so we can gear up and save our friends."

"Right away, spies," Jerry replied.

Once they were all equipped, the spies took the Skyskimmer and blasted off for Europe.

Naturally, Nick noticed that Sam was looking rather upset over everything, and moved to talk to her.

"Hey, Sammy," Nick stated. "I know you're upset, but don't worry. We're going to get Mat back. We did it once before, and we'll do it again."

"And you never break your promises," Sam replied.

"You know, Nick, I'm surprised you're not more upset about Alex getting kidnapped," May cut in.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, May, I _definitely_ have feelings on that, but I'm holding them in until we confront James," Nick responded. "It'll make it all the more satisfying when we beat him down."

"Too true," May giggled, reaching out to hold Nick's hand as the Skyskimmer approached Europe.

(From **Mat49324**)

Sam thought back on Nick reading James' ransom note. The fact they were heading _to Europe_ made her gasp.

"What's the problem, Sam?" asked Haruka.

"I just realized something..." Sam said.

"You forgot something at home, I hope?" asked Bridget.

Melissa and Dawn looked on, despite the chances of Sam forgetting something was low to begin with.

"No," Sam immediately said. "_OUR MOMS_ are in Europe – me, Clover, and Alex anyway!"

"That's right!" Haruka gasped. "Sam and Alex may have to dodge some REAL bullets soon."

The group knew that if they were to run into them, revealing they're all spies for W.O.O.H.P. was the least of their problems – there was also the possibility Sam and Alex would have to reveal to Gabby and Carmen that they both have steady boyfriends... AND they had allowed Nick, Haruka, Britney, and Nick's friends from Japan to stay at their beach house.

"Oh goodness!" May exclaimed, now realizing the magnitude just brought up. "Sam, does your mom know about you and Mat?" She asked.

"I... don't know honestly," Sam answered. "My mom might've gotten _some_ idea, but I honestly don't know."

"I heard Carmen only wants Alex to find a boy of her own," Nick then said. "But even _I_ don't know if Carmen knows about me..."

Bridget landed the Skyskimmer and all nine spies hopped out to begin the search.

**1:13 AM – Somewhere in Europe**

"I guess we'll find out," said Melissa.

"And PRAY that we don't run into them," Dawn added.

"Totally," said Sam. "My mom's known for being overprotective... but this is new territory since Mat and I are an item."

The spies moved forward with Nick leading the pack.

"I could understand Alex at least since she brought down the chopper," Sam stated, remembering. "But then Clover and I stopped him in the fountain; Mat teamed up with Alex."

"I haven't heard of this James guy myself," Britney quipped. "But this is totally low for someone like him!"

"And I was the one who believed him after he double-crossed me with stealing the invisibility formula," said Sam.

"Hey, at least we made it right in the end," said Haruka.

The spies looked around.

"If I were James, where would I be?" Bridget asked.

**("Watch Your Back" by Megan McDuffee plays)**

"That's the problem," Sam realized. "He could be _anywhere_, since he didn't tell us where exactly to find him!"

"Well, that's inconvenient," Britney sighed.

"Rules for villains, number thirty-one," Haruka responded. "Don't give the good guys the exact location of your secret base. Make them work for it."

"Wait, I just had an idea," May proclaimed. "You have psychic powers, right, Nick? Can't you, I don't know, use them to do like a radar sweep of the area and try to sense James' thoughts? I figured that'd be easy with what _he's_ thinking about."

"You know, I've never tried that," Nick admitted. "I probably won't be able to cover all of Europe or anything, but I think I can sweep a pretty good range. I'll try that out and let you all know if I sense mister psycho ex anywhere."

Nick closed his eyes and focused on his psychic abilities, using them to fan out and sense the thoughts of anyone around them. Nick quickly figured out that he could only extend his senses to about a five-mile radius from the group; any farther and the voices began to fade into unrecognizable static.

The search went on for a while, as Europe was a giant continent. It wasn't until Sam heard her X-Powder chirp.

"Hello?" Sam asked.

Alex and Mat's images popped up.

"Sammy?" Mat asked.

"Mat!" Sam gasped. "Where are you guys?"

"I wish I knew, but I know who snatched us!" Alex exclaimed. "It was your psycho ex, Sammy!"

"I know, Alex," Sam replied. "That's why we're here."

"You guys better hurry!" Clover exclaimed, obviously pissed. "I think James might've seen under my nightie!"

Alex rolled her eyes and Mat cringed at hearing that from Clover.

"He held us upside down for quite a while!" Alex added. "And James is obviously fuming mad at Mat, too!"

"I know!" Mat exclaimed. "Last time wasn't as bad, but James..."

Suddenly, the transmission was interrupted. Sam's stress level started to rise.

The result: Alex's X-Powder had been zapped... by James himself.

"Okay, that was totally rude!" Clover exclaimed at James.

"Pipe down!" James exclaimed.

"If this is your way of getting Sam back, you're _totally_ out of your mind!" Alex shouted.

"Alex is right!" Mat shouted. "You're doomed to failure anyway, bub!"

"I suggest you pipe down, too, unless you want me to eliminate you now for stealing _my girl!_" James retaliated back at Mat, who didn't back off.

"You think you're gonna get Sam back _this_ way?!" Clover shouted in support of Mat. "We've gotten to know Mat as a person and he's better than you are tenfold!"

"Yeah, Mat's an awesome dude!" Alex continued. "And if you think Sammy will _ever _get back with you, you're _crazy_!"

"Doesn't matter!" James exclaimed. "If I can't take Sam back, _nobody_ can... especially him!" He eyed Mat angrily again with full intentions of harming him physically when Sam and the others showed up.

"Sam will _NEVER_ agree to your terms, James!" Clover shouted. "And certainly not now with what you're doing! Sam's happy with Mat, and Mat's _totally crazy_ about Sam!"

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"You know, I don't know why I'm even bothering with you," James cackled. "I'll just wait until they get here, and then I'll _personally_ make her pay for dumping me."

"You really _are_ insane, you know that?" Mat growled defiantly. "I don't care what you say, you're _never_ going to get away with this."

James stared down Mat with the fiercest smug grin he could muster. Mat didn't even flinch.

"You're going to be a tough nut to crack, I can see," James proclaimed.

Meanwhile, while the rest of the spies were continuing their search and asking around, Nick caught something with his psychic "radar".

"You got something, Nick?" Nozomi asked.

"Sure as hell do," Nick replied. "I'd recognize _those_ dulcet tones anywhere. Follow me!"

With that, the spies followed Nick as he turned down a seemingly inconspicuous back street towards a large hotel building that looked like it had been abandoned for years.

"Figures," Bridget sighed.

"Come on, girls, let's get a move on!" Nick exclaimed as he raised his foot to kick the door open and allow the spies into the building.

Thankfully, it was only about another minute before they found the room James was hiding in, Nick once again kicking the door down to make an entrance.

"And the heroes make their triumphant arrival," James laughed.

"Stow it, asshole," Nick growled. "I'm only going to warn you one time. Let our friends go, _or else_."

"Or else what?" James taunted. "Honestly, Sam, why put yourself through this pointless façade any longer? You know you belong to me."

Sam was instantly in a fighting stance, ready to pounce if needed. "You touch him, and you're _dead meat_," Sam growled.

"So, don't do... shall we say, _this_?!" James laughed as he turned around and slugged Mat in the face with a right hook.

Sam was about to let her anger explode, but Nick beat her to the punch, his psychic aura flaring to life around him.

And yes, Nick was _very _satisfied in seeing James back up slightly, surprised by Nick's actions.

"Oh, what, you didn't know I could do this?" Nick proclaimed. "Guess you learn something new every day, _right, you son of a bitch?!_"

Nick didn't give James the chance for a snappy retort, thrusting his hand forward and snaring James in his psychic grip.

"Give him a good one, Sammy," Nick stated.

"Oh, you'd better believe I will," Sam responded, running forward to attack while Nick had James captive.

As James struggled to escape Nick's psychic hold, Sam leaped towards him, her foot already moving.

"_This_ is for manipulating me to turn against my friends!" Sam shouted, lashing out and nailing James across the head with a flying sidewinder kick.

However, Sam wasn't done yet and moved to James' behind. "And _this_ is for kidnapping my friends for your sick little revenge scheme!" Sam growled, slamming her foot into James' back and sending him stumbling forward.

Sam moved in, ducking under James and clenching her fist. "And _this_... is for what you just did to _my one true love_!" Sam shouted, smashing her fist into James' chin and uppercutting him into the ceiling.

When James fell back down to the ground, Nick quickly fired a trio of psychic bolts to sever the bindings holding Alex, Clover, and Mat, allowing them to rejoin the spies.

"Thanks for the save, Nick!" Clover proclaimed. "I was seriously beginning to feel like a melon tree, just dangling there like a grapefruit."

"Are you okay, Mat?!" Sam gasped.

"I'll be fine, Sam," Mat responded, rubbing the part of his face where James had struck him. "He doesn't intimidate me, anyway."

Sam couldn't help herself as she pulled Mat into a fierce hug.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet, you damned spies," James proclaimed, only to once again be snared by Nick's psychic hold.

"Oh, don't think _I'm_ done with _you_, asshole," Nick shot back. "Sam might have already given you some pain, but I've got some pain of my own to dish out. After all, Alex is my girlfriend, and that means you _instantly _crossed a line!"

Nick raised his right hand and smashed James into the ceiling again, followed by flicking his hand back down to smash James into the floor, finishing with a two-handed pulse wave to send James flying backwards.

Even while James was flying back, Nick was already charging up his special attack.

James quickly picked himself up and attempted to attack Alex, only for Nick to quickly place himself in front of her.

"Bad guys need to be _punished_, James," Nick taunted. "So accept your punishment! _FINAL SHINE ATTACK!_"

Before James could retreat, Nick thrust his hand forward and unleashed a powerful blast of neon-green energy that struck James in the chest and carried him into a nearby wall before exploding gloriously, putting James on his knees in seconds.

"You wanna give it up _now_, jackass?!" Nick proclaimed.

"Seems like we'll have to pick this up at a later time," James stated, still trying to act smug and confident as he raised a small device. "We _will_ meet again, spies!"

James pressed the button on his device, and an incredibly bright light erupted around him, forcing the spies to cover their eyes so they wouldn't be blinded by the light. When it died down, James had disappeared.

"Of _course_ you would, you coward," Nick growled.

"Are you three doing all right?" May asked.

"Well, we've been in worse situations than just being dangled upside down, honestly," Alex teased. "It's nothing we haven't handled before."

"That's good to hear," Nick quipped as he pulled Alex into a hug. "I know you can handle yourself, Alex, but I still worry about you."

"Aw, I understand," Alex giggled, kissing Nick on the cheek. "You're just doing a boyfriend's job, after all."

"All right, spies, now that the gang's all back together, let's go find that creepazoid so we can all bitchslap him one!" Nozomi proclaimed.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sam responded.

(From **Mat49324**)

The spies moved out, but Mat turned to Alex and Clover in the meantime.

"Thanks for having my back, girls," Mat said to Alex and Clover.

"Not a prob, Mat," said Alex. "Clover and I had a feeling James was bad news when Sam stopped spending time with us. You're on good terms with us, Mat... unlike James – especially after what you told us on the beach."

"Totally," Clover quipped. "James definitely drew a wedge between us, but we've definitely eliminated just about every deceiving vibe from you, dude."

"Especially when I didn't dump James," said Sam, overhearing them. "_He double-crossed me!_"

"Anyway," Nick said, whipping out his X-Powder. "We better notify Jerry so we know where to go now."

"Good move," said Britney.

Jerry's visage appeared on Nick's X-Powder.

"Spies, how's the mission going?" Jerry asked.

"Good news and bad news, Jerry," said Nick. "We got Alex, Clover, and Mat rescued..."

Sam held Mat again with a grin.

"The bad news... James got away," Nick finished. "Any chance you can pinpoint his location?"

"Of course, but how'd he escape?" Jerry asked.

"He had a device in his hand," Haruka answered. "Then a bright light came around him and the next thing we know... he was gone."

"That's even when we had to shield our eyes," Melissa pointed out.

"Hopefully you can track him, Jerry," said Alex.

"Maybe he could," said Mat.

Everyone looked at him.

"That right hook James gave me did _some_ good; I thought quick and threw one of our tracking device gadgets on him after Sam used him for a strongman button," Mat said to the group.

"Nice thinking, Mat," said Alex. "Sammy's taught you well."

"Well, it was more instincts kicking in," said Mat. "But I won't disagree with what you said, Alex."

"Yes, good move, Mat," said Jerry from Nick's X-Powder. "I've pinpointed James' location."

"Okay, where?" asked Dawn.

"Sheffield, England," said Jerry.

"Figures he'd go there," said Sam, remembering James' lie when he posed as an exchange student from England.

"Jerry, any idea what James' device was that made him disappear?" Clover asked.

"The bright light?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah, almost like a giant alien spaceship," Alex answered.

"I'll look into it," Jerry replied. "I should have something shortly in case James uses that against you in battle."

Nick closed his X-Powder.

"I guess we're Sheffield-bound," He said to the group.

"Not for Supercross purposes though," said Mat.

The others looked at him, confused.

"Just saying," Mat quipped.

Sam and Clover just rolled their eyes. Everyone dismissed it and returned to the Skyskimmer while Haruka was at the controls. Nozomi and Clover were in talks about all the food that they got for the night (with Mat of course), and Mat added in he'd show them the 2003 Dallas Supercross for why he considered Chad Reed his "savior"; nobody objected – especially with Clover and Nozomi buying food, and Mat had wanted in for a part of his own. Alex and Nick were preoccupied with a little time together, as were Sam and Mat.

"Sheffield Supercross?" Sam asked Mat.

"Yeah," said Mat. "It's not part of the U.S. Supercross series – it's in Europe – but it's a race Jeremy McGrath put on his itinerary. I can remember the '97 battle between him, Larry Ward, and Damon Bradshaw, and McGrath lost that to Ward; that was pretty much McGrath's first race on a Yamaha in prep for '98, but he won the race in '99."

Sam rolled her eyes, still surprised Mat found a way to include that little tidbit.

"But back on the mission," Mat then said to Sam. "James didn't scare me at all."

"I'd hope not," said Sam as she and Mat shared a nice kiss.

That's when a thought ran through Mat's head.

"You think moments like this might come in handy for distracting James at all?" Mat asked.

"You know, I did notice that he seemed to get angry when you started mocking him," Sam quipped. "With his attitude, it could be the moment we need to get the drop on him."

"It could work a little better than I thought," said Mat with a chuckle. "Besides, James never loved you like how I do."

The two lovers shared another kiss, and this time, Alex and Nick got a front-row seat.

"Those two are something else, aren't they?" Alex giggled.

"No kidding," Nick answered. "But we're kinda the same way, huh?"

"Oh, tell me about it," Alex laughed as she and Nick leaned in for a kiss of their own.

The two couples were nearly interrupted when Jerry came calling.

"Any updates, Jer?" Sam asked.

"Yes, actually," Jerry answered. "I deduced that the device James used to distract you was a sort of modified flashbang, even though it looks like something the Men in Black would use."

"Classy," Alex quipped.

"And as for location, James appears to have stopped moving inside of Hillsborough Stadium," Jerry continued.

"And the 'football or soccer' debate forever rages on," Nick teased.

"Thanks, Jerry," Bridget quipped.

"Sheffield, here we come!" Nozomi added.

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

The twelve spies dropped from the Skyskimmer into the empty stadium, expecting to see James waiting for them.

And sure enough, there he was, walking across the field with a wide grin as if he was confident in his success, despite the beating he'd received earlier.

"Smug a-hole much?" Bridget quipped.

"All right, James, I'm going to assume you want another beatdown?" Nick proclaimed, his psychic aura flaring to life around him. "Because if I remember today correctly, this _did not_ go well for you last time."

"How overconfident of you to assume that you'll win this," James laughed.

"Wow, he really _has _lost it," Nozomi quipped.

"Round two's probably gonna go even worse for you if you don't _back the hell off_," Mat proclaimed.

"Don't you mouth off to me, you little shit," James shot right back. "Sam belongs to me, and _nobody else_! You're delusional if you think she's going to stay with you!"

James was suddenly frozen in place by Nick's psychic grip.

"Okay, which one of you wants to smack him once this round?" Nick offered.

"I'll take the honors," Mat replied, walking up to the immobile James. "Your threats may not faze me, but _no one_ insults the love of my life and gets away with it."

Despite James' struggling, Mat was able to slug James in the face with a right hook, specifically as payback for the earlier strike.

While all this was happening, May noticed a strange sight on the nearby sideline; a small pirate ship, no doubt a sort of stage prop belonging to whichever soccer/football team was going to play here.

Seeing something on it that she could use, May dashed over to retrieve it.

James quickly recovered himself and dodged away from another of Mat's punches, only for Sam to come in with a sliding dash kick that sent James crashing to the ground.

In spite of all this, James recovered and leaped away from the spies.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me, you bunch of tarts!" James taunted, laughing manically...

...only to be smacked in the back from behind and sent into a spinning tumble.

Nick was the first to notice who had attacked James...

...and honestly, he'd seen some strange things in his time with W.O.O.H.P., no lie.

But seeing his childhood friend May standing there, in a karate stance, while _wielding a large metal anchor like it was nothing..._

...well, the weird limit had been officially reached today, in Nick's opinion.

**("Starry Story" by Daisuke Ishiwatari plays)**

"How the _heck_ is she wielding that thing so handily?!" Clover exclaimed. "I tried lifting something heavy exactly _once_, and it didn't end well for me then!"

"Johnny's training," May answered. "His parents had a large anchor from an old sailboat for some reason, and he made me use it all the time during my practice. You could call it my 'weapon of choice' for beating the snot out of evil bastards who think they own someone."

Not waiting for James to respond, May charged into the fray and began swinging the anchor to attack James multiple times, making _sure_ to leave _at least_ a bruise with each successful hit, until finishing up with a spinning attack that caught James upside the head and floored him once again.

"Now are you gonna turn yourself in, for your own good?" May challenged.

"No chance in _hell_!" James growled, reaching for his flashbang device and activating it, swallowing the area in a severe flash of light.

This time, though, Nick was ready for it, enveloping the group in a psychic bubble that dispersed the light around them and prevented the flash from blinding them.

However, James had taken the opportunity to make his escape.

"Aw, nutballs, he got away _again_?!" Alex shouted.

"He couldn't have gotten far," Nick responded, closing his eyes and extending his psychic-enhanced senses. "I can still sense his thoughts. Follow me, everybody!"

With that, the spies left the stadium (after May returned the anchor she'd wielded back to its proper place) and continued the hunt for James.

And they just barely missed Gabby, Carmen, and Stella on the opposite side of the street, talking about recent events, thankfully not noticing the spies.

_To be continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_Next time on Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear..._

Sam: Ooh, just wait until I get my hands on that grease trap...

May: Ooh, that's an insult I've never heard before. You must _really_ be mad, huh, Sammy?

Sam: To put it _extremely mildly, _May.

Nick: Don't worry, Sam. We'll corner this guy eventually, and then we'll pay back all the hurt he put you through _two-hundred fold_. And that's a promise.

Alex: Hey, psycho evil boyfriend at four o'clock or whatever time is called over here!

James: You damn spies just don't know when to quit, do you?

Mat: Well, when you insult and belittle my true love, yeah, we're gonna be stubborn about kicking your teeth in.

Gabby: Sam, dearie, is that you?!

Sam: Oh, crap, _mom_?!

Nick: Next time on _Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear_, "The Secret's Out"!

Clover: It feels like they always save the good stuff for the "next episode" and just leave us to dry. Everyone sees that, right?


	2. The Secret's Out

_Previously on Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear..._

"How the _heck_ is she wielding that thing so handily?!" Clover exclaimed. "I tried lifting something heavy exactly _once_, and it didn't end well for me then!"

"Johnny's training," May answered. "His parents had a large anchor from an old sailboat for some reason, and he made me use it all the time during my practice. You could call it my 'weapon of choice' for beating the snot out of evil bastards who think they own someone."

Not waiting for James to respond, May charged into the fray and began swinging the anchor to attack James multiple times, making _sure_ to leave _at least_ a bruise with each successful hit, until finishing up with a spinning attack that caught James upside the head and floored him once again.

"Now are you gonna turn yourself in, for your own good?" May challenged.

"No chance in _hell_!" James growled, reaching for his flashbang device and activating it, swallowing the area in a severe flash of light.

This time, though, Nick was ready for it, enveloping the group in a psychic bubble that dispersed the light around them and prevented the flash from blinding them.

However, James had taken the opportunity to make his escape.

"Aw, nutballs, he got away _again_?!" Alex shouted.

"He couldn't have gotten far," Nick responded, closing his eyes and extending his psychic-enhanced senses. "I can still sense his thoughts. Follow me, everybody!"

With that, the spies left the stadium (after May returned the anchor she'd wielded back to its proper place) and continued the hunt for James.

And they just barely missed Gabby, Carmen, and Stella on the opposite side of the street, talking about recent events, thankfully not noticing the spies.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(The pages constantly turn, no matter how long the reader takes. When one story ends, another story will inevitably start. In the end, there is only a new beginning.)

**Mat49324** and **The Blue Time Ranger** are proud to present:

_Totally Spies!: __Secrets Near and Dear_

**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**Story Created:** November 13th, 2019

**Story Summary:** The sixth joint project between Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger. It seems like things are finally calming down after the spies' harrowing adventure in Tokyo, but alas, no such luck. On what seems like a relatively normal day, three of the spies are kidnapped by an old enemy of the spies, one Sam had hoped she would never see again. Now, James will only release his hostages if Sam gets back together with him, but Sam knows she'll _never_ do that, so the only other option is a good old-fashioned search and rescue. However, this may lead Sam and Alex to realize that their parents _still_ don't know they have boyfriends. Will they be able to spill the beans, or is the secret already out?

**On Today's Episode: **The hunt for James continues, but every time the spies seem to have the manipulative monster cornered, he somehow slips away. Add to this the fact that Alex and Mat might have been snatched again in the confusion prompts the spies to step up their pursuit in the hopes of finally bringing James down. Now, however, the biggest problem may be that Sam, Alex, and Clover's mothers might find out that their daughters are here in Europe. Can the team keep _both_ of their big secrets, or is at least one of them already out?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger do not own anything related to Totally Spies or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Marathon Media Group, Image Entertainment Corporation, Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, and David Michel. The only things of this story we DO own are any characters created by us truly for the story (in this case, Nick, Haruka, Bridget, May, Nozomi, Dawn, and Melissa on my side, and Mathew on his side). Any characters or things we don't own, we are just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of our readers. Besides, if we _did_ own Totally Spies, which we _don't_, why would we be writing fiction on a fan site?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Episode 2: The Secret's Out

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"Any sign of him, Nick?" Alex asked.

"I can sense him that-a-way," Nick responded. "We'll chase him all over Europe if we've gotta, honestly. Anything to give that pompous ass the beatdown he deserves!"

"Damn right!" May proclaimed.

"I'm still shocked you were able to lift that anchor like it was nothing, May," Mat quipped. "Threw all of us for a loop, honestly."

"One of the many things Johnny taught me to do," May proclaimed.

"I'm surprised you had the patience to deal with this ass once you realized he deceived you, Sam," Nozomi stated. "James just seems like yet another wacko with a twisted view of love."

"That's putting it mildly," Sam groaned.

"Oh, is that so?"

Sam ducked under the flying kick that James had sent her way before retaliating with a flying boot to his chest that knocked him backwards.

"Well, thanks for coming back to us," Nick quipped. "Saves us the trouble of trying to find you ourselves."

"You know, you don't _have_ to keep chasing me like this," James replied, trying to sound seductive, even if he just sounded sleazy to the spies. "Just come back to me, and we can end this useless rundown."

James slowly walked up to Sam, attempting to pull her into his arms. Sam responded by raising her knee and slamming it straight into a rather... _private _area, causing James' eyes to widen as he doubled over in obvious pain.

"OUCH," Clover shuddered.

"Well deserved," May proclaimed.

"I'm not one to swear, normally," Sam growled. "But in your case, James, I'll gladly make an exception, so would you kindly _fuck off?!_"

"Nice one, Sam," Nick teased as he rushed up to join her, his psychic aura already flaring to life around him. "If anyone deserved your first f-bomb, it was _definitely_ this sleazeball."

"You wanna mess him up together, Nick?" Sam offered.

"Oh, you freakin' _know _it," Nick proclaimed as both of them shifted into a fighting stance.

"O-oh, what, you're actually s-sweet on _him_ now?" James growled, hoping to psyche Sam out.

"Don't think your dumb mind games are gonna work on me," Sam shot back.

"We've just got some payback to dish out, and we intend to see that we deliver it a hundred-fold," Nick continued. "So let's get it on, jackass!"

(From **Mat49324**)

"James, I am in _no mood_ to reconcile with you!" Sam growled. "I _DID NOT _dump you – _YOU TRICKED ME!_"

"Totally!" Clover exclaimed. "Even if we forgave our Sammy in the end, you're still a criminal, James!"

James managed to recover from Sam kneeing him in the privates.

"I'm with Clover on that," Nick stated. "Once a bad guy... always a bad guy!"

"And once my girl... _always my girl_," James deduced.

"Hey, as far as I can see, _you're the one that blew it!_" Mat shouted.

James was about to come after Mat in retaliation, but Sam defended him with a vicious look on her face that even made James stop in his tracks.

"You back off, James!" demanded Sam. "_I DON'T WANT YOU BACK!_"

James was getting more and more frustrated. When Mat gently grabbed Sam by her shoulders, his frustration levels rose tenfold. Nick easily saw an opportunity and drew first blood on James this time.

"You really don't learn, do you?" Nick proclaimed before letting his aura pulse as he rushed in to attack James.

"You're nuts, boy!" James laughed, throwing a wide right hook only for Nick to easily catch it.

"I've had martial arts training," Nick shot back. "You're just throwing punches wildly, like the _thug_ that you are!"

Nick shoved James' fist backwards so that he could punch him in the stomach, and with the blow enhanced by Nick's psychic powers, James definitely felt it.

"Do you _honestly_ think we're going to let you get away with this?!" Nick shouted, emerald light surrounding his right hand. "Are you so deluded that you _really_ believe Sam's _ever_ going to come back to you?! Well, then, I guess we've gotta _beat_ some sense into you! _FINAL SHINE ATTACK!_"

Just as James tried to stand up straight, Nick fired a Final Shine Attack into his chest that sent him tumbling backwards.

However, he quickly stood back up, refusing to stay down.

"You're gonna come back to me, Sam," James proclaimed after Nick's pummeling.

"No, I won't!" Sam exclaimed. "My heart belongs to Mat now, James!"

"What's _that_ goofy guy have that I don't?!" James complained.

"Well, for one thing, he actually treats me like a person, _unlike _you," Sam proclaimed. "He's a total sweetheart, always there to pick me up when I'm feeling even the _slightest_ bit down, and he gives me my space when I need it and doesn't smother me. He really, _truly_ loves me, and I know he feels the same way about me!"

"Sammy's right!" Alex declared. "I'll admit Clover and I had some deceiving feelings about Mat at first, but he's eliminated virtually _all_ of them in our books!"

Clover nodded in agreement; after what Mat had said to them on the beach, Clover was more than happy to agree with Alex saying Mat is "a total sweetheart."

"I admit, you had some good spots, James," said Sam. "Until I found out what you REALLY are..."

She approached him and began unleashing multiple kicks on James, enough for James to plead for mercy, but Sam wouldn't listen.

"You _really_ think I'm gonna show mercy after everything you've done?!" Sam shot back, grabbing James by the shirt collar and yanking him to his feet. James actually flinched back from the unyielding rage building in Sam's eyes. "_Especially_ after you _kidnapped_ Mat just because you can't accept that I might have feelings for someone else?! _That_, especially, is _unforgivable_!"

Sam punctuated her statement by way of a flying kick to James' face, followed by Nick blasting James further back with a pulse wave.

"I made a promise to Mat, that we'd always be together, no matter _what_ crazies and loonies try to separate us," Sam proclaimed. "And, to take a page from my bestie here, I will _never_ break my promises!"

"Now you're talkin' my language, Sammy!" Nick exclaimed, charging up a Final Shine Attack.

Amazingly, as Nick unleashed his Final Shine Attack, James recovered and dodged it. He reached into his pocket and grabbed Sam by the shoulder simultaneously. Clover and Alex immediately knew what it was... James had a small vial with some of the invisibility formula from South America... or was it?

"LET ME GO!" Sam shouted as she struggled.

"How'd he save some of that?!" Alex exclaimed.

"That doesn't matter!" Melissa replied. "We gotta get that out of his hand!"

"No worries, Melissa," Sam quipped, calming down.

Just as James was about to force-feed some of the leftover invisibility formula to Sam, she quickly retaliated and gave James a punch to the arm just in time for James to drop the vial at her boot. Haruka came to Sam's rescue and used the laser lipstick to nail James in the other shoulder, which enabled Sam to escape from James, who'd lost his grip on Sam.

"You okay, Sammy?" Mat asked his girlfriend and even grabbed her shoulders again gently.

"I'm fine," said Sam, still holding the vial she'd caught with her boot.

"Is that...?" Mat asked before Sam cut him off.

"It looks like the same invisibility formula," said Sam. "We better send it to Jerry for analysis to be sure."

"I'll do that," Dawn volunteered.

She took the vial and used her X-Powder to send the liquid to W.O.O.H.P. for analysis.

"Well, it's been fun," said James, holding his device again. "But I say we will be having a round three..."

His sentence got interrupted when Britney and Alex pounced on him the same way Mat and Sam pounced on Millia in the last mission – hanging from their expandable cable bungee belts on the ceiling.

"Nice move, girls!" Mat quipped.

He then used the laser chapstick to destroy James' device to prevent him from escaping, and was successful.

"No chance of that, buddy boy," Mat added.

"Get _off _of me, you little shits!" James growled, lunging upwards to knock Britney and Alex off of him.

"_Sonic Mode Online!"_ Bridget shouted, transforming into Sonic Mode and lunging forward at lightning speeds, sending James stumbling backwards so she could rush him again and again.

Bridget landed at least eight punches before smashing her foot into James' face, slamming him into the opposite wall.

"Dude, just give up," Bridget stated. "It's for your own good."

James struggled to get to his feet, but reached for something in his pocket and threw it up to the rafters above, where it exploded and sent debris and steel beams crashing downwards.

Nick raised a psychic barrier to protect the spies from the falling rubble, but when the area was calm, it turned out that James had escaped yet again.

"Ooh, this _isn't_ the end, you asshole..." said Nick, beside himself that James _still_ got away, even after Mat destroyed his device.

**8:03 AM – Sheffield, England**

After putting the mission on hold, the twelve spies (after a quick wardrobe change to regular clothes) were sharing a breakfast together. Sam was still on her X-Powder trying to see if the tracking device Mat threw on James was still working; thankfully, it was.

"Got anything, Sammy?" asked Alex.

"Not quite yet," said Sam.

"I'm not pleased he got away," said Mat. "But if James has retreated to Arnhem, Holland, I might know where he'll be hiding... and we'll definitely be racking up the jet lag again."

"Where?" asked Nozomi, remembering Mat talked about Arnhem, Holland with she and Clover earlier.

"It's called the GelreDome," said Mat. "That's where Ernesto Fonseca won his lone Supercross on the 250."

"And how appropriate he brought that up," said Clover, pointing at the back of Mat's red and blue motocross shirt.

It had read "Fonseca 10" on the back; the back of his jumpsuit had read "Ferry 15" (in reference to 1997 125cc East Supercross champ, Tim Ferry).

"Uh-huh," said Melissa, noticing, too.

Sam's X-Powder then chirped; she knew it was Jerry. "Sam here..."

"Spies, we have pinpointed James," Jerry proclaimed. "His signal has currently stopped in Arnhem, Holland, specifically inside its stadium, the GelreDome."

"Nailed it!" Mat exclaimed.

"Thanks, Jerry," said Britney as Sam closed her X-Powder.

"Let's hit it," Haruka stated as the spies stood up.

Just as they got set to go, Sam heard a voice that took her by surprise... and eventually the rest of the twelve spies.

"Sam, dearie, is that you?!"

Not only was Sam taken by surprise, Mat was, too.

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"Oh, this isn't good," Nick quipped silently.

Gabby, Carmen, and Stella, the mothers of Sam, Alex, and Clover, were all standing there, looking wide-eyed at their daughters and their friends.

"I didn't think we'd be seeing all of you here," Carmen admitted. "What's the occasion?"

"And... who are all of your friends?" Gabby asked. "I assume they're your friends."

"Of course we're friends!" May giggled. "It's just how we are!"

"_That's_ your first answer, May?" Nick sighed.

"I recognize Nick, since Alex sent me a picture of her buddy," Carmen stated.

"And I think that other boy is Mathew, the Supercross fan Sam was telling me about," Gabby noted. "That must be fun to talk about, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm a really passionate Supercross fan," Mat admitted. "I know it's kind of an acquired taste, but..."

"But I don't recognize some of the others..." Stella noted.

"Well, to run down the list," Nick quipped, pointing to each of them in turn. "There's my cousin Dawn, my sister Melissa, my childhood friends May, Haruka, and Bridget, and my former girlfriend Nozomi."

"It looks like a mostly girl group," Stella laughed. "It's almost like some of you have boyfriends, huh?"

No one missed the way Sam flinched when Stella mentioned that, as if she was surprised that Stella had hit the nail so accurately on the head.

"Sam, dear, everything all right?" Gabby asked. "Do you... _actually_ have a boyfriend?"

Sighing in defeat, Sam realized there was no way out of it now.

"Mom, I'm going to be honest with you," Sam answered. "I know you're probably going to want to know if he's up to your standards, and I just want you to understand that Mat has been the _perfect_ boyfriend."

"Hey, I'll vouch, too, Sam," Mat replied, stepping closer to Sam. "Gabby, was it? I want you to know that Sam really means a lot to me, and I would _absolutely never_ take advantage of that. Sam and I made a _heartfelt_ promise that we'd always stay together, and I keep my promises."

Gabby was still thinking, not showing any expression indicating acceptance or rejection yet.

"Alex, sweetie, is there someone _you_ want to introduce me to, too?" Carmen wondered while Sam and Mat continued to plead their case to Gabby.

"I... I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore, huh?" Alex responded, walking up to Nick so they could hold hands.

Nick definitely didn't expect Carmen's response.

"OMIGOSH, you two are _soooooooooooooo cuuuuuute_!" Carmen exclaimed, leaping over to hug her daughter.

"Now I see where she gets it from," Nick teased.

"Wait, mom, you're actually okay with Nick?" Alex asked.

"Of course, sweetie," Carmen replied. "I just wanted you to eventually find a boy who'd be good to you, and it looks like you really caught a winner!"

"Here's hoping Gabby feels the same way about Sam and Mat," Nick responded.

"So, how about you, Clover?" Stella asked. "Is there a boy in your life right now?"

"Still looking, mom," Clover admitted. "It's a tougher process than I thought, and I guess Alex and Sammy just lucked out. It definitely doesn't help that freakin' _Mandy_ keeps stealing all my prospective boyfriends! If only I could talk to my baguette dreamboat..."

"Clover, are you _seriously_ still on about that guy?!" Bridget shouted. "You saw him _once_ during your class trip to France and you're _really_ not gonna let it go?!"

"Hey, it's like I said, Paris has a lot of hunks, but he was something else," Clover giggled.

"Oy vey," May groaned.

After a couple more seconds that felt like an eternity to Sam and Mat after finishing their explanations, including the walk they'd taken after defeating Professor Genesis (thankfully without mentioning any of the spy stuff) and the promise they'd made to each other, Gabby looked straight towards her daughter and her boyfriend.

"Mat," Gabby proclaimed. "Do you promise to take _extra_ good care of Sam?"

"That's what I already promised," Mat stated.

Gabby then smiled. "Then you've got my blessing, dearie."

"Oh, thank you _so much_, mom," Sam gasped as she ran over to hug her mother.

Mat smiled and gave a huge sigh of relief.

"I only do this because I want you to find someone who will treat you right," Gabby answered. "And, from the looks of things, you really did find that special someone. I mean, seriously, he even _cooked dinner_ for you!"

"I really am just a rookie when it comes to cooking, but I guess I did pretty good," Mat laughed.

"Okay, now that all of the mom stuff is done, I've really only got one question left," Carmen asked, and it was the one that the spies were still dreading. "What _exactly_ are you all doing here in Europe?"

"Another class trip, I take it?" Stella giggled.

Nick was about to think of something to say to that when his X-Powder chirped. He quickly opened it to see what it was trying to tell him, only to see the signal tracker program active.

And it was showing a very particular signal, one they'd spent the better part of today tracking, approaching their location fast.

"Ooh, that's pretty cool," Carmen quipped. "Is that one of those custom-made phone case thingies?"

"CARMEN, WATCH OUT!" Nick shouted as a figure leaped towards Carmen with every intent of causing pain. Carmen spun around just in time to see James leaping towards her.

Nick didn't waste any time and thrust his right hand out, ensnaring James in his psychic hold just inches from Carmen.

"You _seriously_ keep reaching new lows with every time you pop up, don't you, _James_?" Nick growled, flicking his hand out to send James flying back. "If you weren't such a _scumbag_, I'd almost be impressed."

"Whatever it takes to make 'Sammy' see the light," James cackled.

"Weren't you supposed to be in Holland, you jerk?!" Mat shouted.

"I figured I'd come back and make a house call," James responded. "Especially since Sam's _mother_ so wonderfully graced us with her presence."

"You even _touch_ my mom and my leg's going straight for your _head_," Sam growled.

"Um, Sam, dearie, what's going on here?" Gabby asked, slowly retreating towards her daughter.

"Long story short, Gabby, _this_ psycho stalker loony is the reason we're here in the first place," Nick proclaimed, his aura flaring to life around him. "But we'll explain _that_ bit, as well as why I'm glowing, once we send this knucklehead packing."

"Don't think you're going to beat me this time," James cackled, only to be nailed in the gut by a Final Shine Attack from Nick.

"Listen, asshole, we've kicked your keester at least, _at least_, three times already today!" Nick shot back. "What _honestly_ makes you think a _fourth_ round is gonna go any better for you?!"

"Just let it go, Nick," Sam replied, shifting into a fighting stance. "He's beyond reason anyway. Mom, you should probably get behind us. This is gonna get ugly."

Though still very confused, Gabby nodded and motioned for Carmen and Stella to join her, and the three mothers moved behind the group of spies as they prepared to face down James yet again.

(From **Mat49324**)

"Who is _this_ lunatic?!" Stella declared.

"Sam knows..." James simply said. "Don't you, Sam?"

"Sammy?" Gabby asked.

"I'm afraid I do," Sam admitted. "My psycho-ex, James – who apparently wants me back as his own girlfriend."

"Two... _two boyfriends, Sam?!_" Gabby gasped in shock.

"Not anymore, Mom," said Sam. "_He's_ the one who broke my heart before I met Mat... and Mat _I know_ will _never_ break my heart."

"That was more or less the start of us together," Mat quipped. "I may be from Hawaii, but I have my morals with others, which accounts for the decent head on my shoulders."

He turned back to James.

"And as long as we're around, you're _not coming anywhere_ near their mothers, got it?!" Mat exclaimed.

Nick, Sam, Clover, and Alex stood forward.

"Girls, get 'em somewhere safe," Sam said to Haruka and the others.

"No worries," said Haruka.

"Yes," said Bridget. "Nozomi, Melissa and I will."

"Are you... sure?" Stella asked, not sure.

"We can take care of ourselves, Mom," Clover quipped.

"Yes," said Mat in agreement. "This crazy prick had to kidnap some of us – me included – to make a point to Sammy. And thanks to your blessing, Gabby, I think I have a spark of confidence now. Besides, I've realized I like looking out for Sam and the others since they look out for me."

"We'll see about _that_," James sneered.

Alex and Mat struck first while Nick flared his psychic aura again.

"Be sure to send some of that my way, Mat," Alex quipped, knowing she and Mat at least can rest easy.

"You really think you're going to defeat me?!" James shouted, lunging forward to attack Mat, only for Alex to lash out with a forward palm-strike, dazing James so she could try something she'd always wanted to do.

While James was stunned, Alex moved closer, then leaped into the air, did a handstand on James' shoulders, then on the way down to behind him, she slammed both of her feet into James' back, sending him tumbling forward and allowing Mat to land a wicked right hook to the left side of his face.

"You can call _that_ an 'I just did', Alex," Mat quipped as he and Alex high-fived each other.

"Trust us, Mom," said Sam to Gabby. "Reasoning with this lunatic _is not_ gonna work. Believe us, we tried."

With that, Nozomi, Melissa, and Bridget escorted the spies' moms to a safe hiding place. They were already crossing the street. The nine remaining spies concentrated on James.

"So you're not being chicken then?" Haruka taunted.

"We'll see who's _chicken!_" James retorted.

He then charged for Haruka, but she was too good for James' tactics, as she easily dodged every wild swing James sent her way.

"Stand _still_, you dumb broad!" James growled, continuing to attack and getting rather frustrated that he couldn't land a blow.

"Hey, I was trained in martial arts," Haruka responded. "You're just a no-talent _punk_ who doesn't even know _how_ to fight!"

James spun around and aimed a kick for Haruka's head, only for her to catch his foot mid-kick.

"So maybe learn some moves and come back when you _don't suck!_" Haruka shouted, grabbing James' leg with both of her hands and lifting him overhead by his foot and powerslamming him into the ground behind her.

"Nice one, Haruka!" Nick exclaimed.

"Been wanting to do _that_ for a while," Haruka giggled.

Meanwhile, Nozomi, Melissa, and Bridget had safely escorted the spies' moms a couple hundred yards away from James.

"That guy's pretty weird," Stella remarked.

"Weird doesn't even _begin_ to describe James," said Melissa.

The group then heard footsteps. It appeared James might have been in pursuit.

"Get back here, you wretch!" Nick shouted.

Britney could see James was heading towards Melissa and the others.

"Girls heads up!" Dawn and Britney shouted simultaneously.

As James got closer, Mat quickly reacted and used another of the gadgets.

"GIRLS, STAY DOWN!" Mat shouted to the spies and the moms.

Nick was happy to assist Mat in this.

"Don't even _think_ about _it!_" Sam growled at James, wanting him to stay away from her mom.

"Totally!" Alex exclaimed. "Having guys like Nick and Mat in our corners is _the best_ thing that has happened to us, and I'm not just talking about them as boyfriends!"

Sam and Clover looked at each other in full agreement with Alex, even if Clover was the only one who didn't have a boyfriend yet. Sam then whispered in Clover's ear about surprising Mat outside at their pool after he said he liked looking out for the three of them at least. That was to come after his race he wanted to show (Dallas 2003); the one thing she left up in the air was if it should be at night, or in the morning after breakfast at least.

"You want in on this, Clover?" Sam asked in Clover's ear, knowing full well that was for after the mission, and to ask Alex later (possibly).

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"Sounds like a plan to me, Sammy," Clover replied.

"WILL YOU STOP IGNORING ME?!" James shouted.

"Oh, is someone a little salty that they're getting wrecked?" Nick taunted, his psychic aura pulsing. "Maybe you should have thought twice before thinking your half-baked revenge scheme was going to trip us up!"

"I was young and naïve when you tried to manipulate me, James," Sam proclaimed. "And, as you can easily see, I will _never_ make that mistake again!"

James took a couple steps back before deciding that a tactical retreat was in order.

"This isn't the end, damn you!" James growled, turning around and dashing away.

"Hey, _wait_!" Alex shouted.

"Just leave him," Nick replied, his psychic aura fading. "We'll stomp him eventually. After all, he won't stand a chance against all twelve of us."

"Yeah, and I put another tracker on him, just in case he figured out the first one," Haruka quipped. "I slipped it on his foot when I powerslammed him."

Nick then turned back to Gabby, Carmen, and Stella. "I guess we have other things to explain, huh?" Nick laughed.

"Yeah, please do that, because I'm really confused now," Carmen answered.

And so, after swearing the three mothers to secrecy (as was common in situations like this), the spies explained their roles as agents of W.O.O.H.P., as well as when the group had expanded.

"So, this James character was actually after a secret invisibility serum?" Gabby asked.

"Yeah, and he tried to turn me against my friends so I'd get it for him," Sam answered. "I feel like such a fool for ever believing his lies."

"That's how they do it," Gabby replied. "They're usually the master manipulators who know just what to say to you."

"Hold on, you fought a _clone_ of your brother?!" Carmen gasped. "What was _that_ like?"

"Very weird and strange," Nick admitted, keeping the fact that he'd actually killed the clone of Kevin a secret (he'd instructed May to also keep quiet about Millia's fate as well). "Let's just say that Professor Genesis was a one-of-a-kind sicko."

"You girls must be pretty tough to be able to handle everything you've done for W.O.O.H.P.," Stella admitted.

"Well, mom, it's been a process and a half, but we'd like to think we're pretty good at handling creeps and weirdos now," Clover replied.

"Um, I think I just realized something, you guys," Haruka proclaimed, all eyes on her now. "If James knows the moms are here, he's probably gonna go after them next time we find him."

"Already taken care of, Haruka," May quipped, closing her X-Powder. "I just got off the horn with Jerry, and he's gonna pick our wayward mothers up and keep them safe at W.O.O.H.P. until James is back behind bars."

"Good thinking, May!" Sam exclaimed. "I don't know why I didn't think of that before..."

"Well, we didn't realize the whole 'moms in Europe' thing until we were practically here already," Alex answered. "And considering how the mere _mention _of James got you super-riled up..."

"Good point, Alex," Sam admitted.

Once Gabby, Carmen, and Stella were safely on Jerry's personal chopper (with the OG trio promising to call every now and then to ensure they were all right), the spies resumed their search for James.

While Sam, Alex, and Clover secretly discussed their plan to surprise Mat, Nick kept his psychic-enhanced senses open for James, knowing he could show up at any moment.

Meanwhile, May had hooked some headphones into her X-Powder and was currently jamming out to a Japanese pop song.

"Is that song really so good, May?" Nozomi asked. "I'm not really much of a music girl, honestly."

"This idol singer's got a rockin' voice!" May giggled. "Here, have a listen and you'll see what I mean."

As May handed off one of her headphones so Nozomi could listen as well, Nick couldn't help but smile at the exchange.

_We really are the tightest group of friends ever, aren't we?_ Nick thought as he moved closer to Alex so he could hold her hand, not missing Alex squeezing back to show her appreciation.

Naturally, Sam and Mat took the time to sneak in a kiss while they had the chance to.

And just in time, too, as Nick perked up upon sensing something nearby.

"Do you sense him, Nick?" Bridget asked.

"About ten or so clicks that-a-way," Nick responded. "Let's move!"

(From **Mat49324**)

The twelve spies moved in the direction Nick pointed out.

"I hope Jerry was able to figure out if that serum was leftover invisibility formula," said Clover, suddenly remembering.

"Yeah, we better check with him," said Haruka.

"Something tells me if it is, he's planning something mischievous," said Mat. "Logic says it's likely on me again."

"I think I know what it is, too," Sam quipped, remembering he drank the formula right in front of them before.

"Time to give him a call," said Britney, getting out her X-Powder.

She pushed a button and Jerry's visage appeared.

"How goes the mission, spies?" Jerry asked.

"We're on the hunt for James again," said Alex.

"But, Jerry," said Britney. "Any word on the serum we sent you?"

"Yeah, did James save some of the invisibility formula or make his own?" asked Sam. "Or is it something different?"

"It seems like he was able to reverse-engineer some of the old formula to create his own version," Jerry answered.

"He did?!" Mat exclaimed.

"We better stay on it, then," Nick quipped.

Everyone nodded in agreement with him.

"Jerry, any word on James' location now?" asked Melissa.

"Let's see..." Jerry began as he checked his viewscreen in his office.

After about four seconds, he spoke.

"It appears James is luckily not far away from you," said Jerry.

"Yeah, lucky us," said Dawn. "No jet lag and hopping from country to country."

Knowing the spies were in Sheffield, outside of Jerry, Mat seemed to be the only one who knew ANY landmark in England besides London Bridge and even Big Ben.

"Where exactly is he, Jer?" Mat asked. "I doubt he's heading to Hillsborough Stadium again."

"Apparently, he's near the London Bridge," Jerry replied.

"Before you go, Jer," said Alex. "Put our moms on, please."

"Very well, Alex," said Jerry.

"Sam, is that you?" Gabby asked. "Are you and your friends doing okay?"

"Just fine, mom," Sam answered. "We're still trying to find James, but hopefully it won't take too much longer to bring him down."

"Just promise me you won't take any unnecessary risks," Gabby replied. "That James sounds like a real scoundrel."

"That's only putting it _mildly_," Sam sighed.

"Nick, please protect my darling Alex, okay?" Carmen asked.

"With my _life_," Nick immediately responded. "Don't any of you worry about a thing. We'll find this wacko, and we'll take him down _real good_."

"That goes for you, too, Clover," Stella stated.

"No need to worry about me, mom," Clover responded. "He's not getting the drop on us anymore."

"Keep them safe, Jerry," Sam stated.

"No problem," Jerry replied.

**12:02 PM – London, England**

The twelve of them kept their guards up. Bridget and Mat even looked up at the beams and behind them, too for James.

"Hey, Mat," Alex spoke up.

Mat looked at her. Sam did, too.

"I've been meaning to tell you this," She said. "But about your Vegas Supercross heartbreak... I could overhear that announcer talking about the identical lap times, so I could immediately understand why you were pretty bummed after Sammy told us why you were so sad."

As Alex gave Mat a pat on the shoulder, Sam sighed in relief inside that she didn't say a word about their surprise to Mat. It may have been distracting on one side of things, but it was a good way to release a little tension.

"Yeah, that was really disappointing for me," Mat explained. "You all knew I took the outcome pretty hard but... what's done is done."

"Was that the closest title chase you've seen?" asked Nozomi.

"Actually, no," said Mat while everybody still kept their guard up. "2005, the 125 East Supercross – Grant Langston (8) vs. Josh Hansen (100); I was pulling for Josh Hansen, simply because he and I share the same birthdays – February 16. Langston led by 7 points going into the final round at Pontiac, MI. Josh Hansen won the final race, but Langston had to finish 4th or better to win the title; Langston got 4th, so he and Hansen ended up tied in the final points tally. The title went to Grant Langston because the rider with the most wins gets the nod; Langston won 3 races out of 7, and Hansen won only 2. I felt so bad for Hansen in the end because he didn't have much of a Supercross season in 2006, and he hasn't joined Dad Donnie Hansen as a Supercross champ yet – Donnie won the 250 Supercross title in 1982, only to crash hard the next year and left comatose."

Everybody was shocked at hearing "comatose."

"He recovered, don't worry," said Mat.

"That's pretty cool that you share the same birthday," Melissa giggled.

"But _big_ oof on being denied a title because you only had one less win than the other guy," May quipped. "That's _always_ so frustrating, huh?"

"Anyways, we'd better stay alert, everyone," said Nick.

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

As the group continued to traverse the London Bridge in hopes of finding James before he could surprise them with some sort of sneak attack, they had no idea that an unseen opponent was following them stealthily.

"Okay, so if I was an unhinged psycho ex-boyfriend, where would I be hiding?" Nozomi asked, only to be suddenly knocked to the ground by a seemingly invisible force.

"Who's there?!" Dawn exclaimed, only to be sent crashing to the ground as well.

"Oh, crap, it must be James!" Sam shouted, immediately on the defensive. "He must have used some of his invisibility serum!"

"Well, nuts! How do we fight him, then, if we can't see him?!" Clover exclaimed.

Nick, however, had closed his eyes and focused his senses. When the invisible enemy started moving towards him, Nick spun around and leaped, executing a spinning kick that sent James stumbling back.

"H-How did you see me coming?!" James growled.

"Um, _duh_? Psychic powers, remember?" Nick responded.

James let out an angry bellow and charged towards Nick, still unseen to the rest of the spies but perfectly visible to Nick's psychic-enhanced senses, and the two began to fight, James throwing punches and kicks wildly with Nick handily deflecting each strike sent his way.

"This is _uber-surreal_," Nozomi admitted.

"You really think you've got the upper hand just because you're invisible?" Nick laughed. "I'll admit, it's a neat trick, but when you're going up against someone who has psychic powers and can, say, I dunno, _read your freakin' mind_, it's kinda a one-sided affair, isn't it?!"

Nick leaped over James' forward kick and struck back with both of his fists in an overhead swing, sending James crashing to the ground.

All of a sudden, James became visible as he tried to stand up, meaning the invisibility serum must have worn off.

Nick took that as an opportunity, charging up and unleashing a Final Shine Attack that sent James flying backwards.

"Give it up," Nick growled. "How many times have we stomped you now? Maybe five, do I hear _six_?! Do you _really_ want to continue this pointless charade any longer?!"

"Grrr... this isn't over, you damned spies!" James shouted, turning around to retreat.

"Stay on him!" Sam exclaimed.

"He won't get far, Sammy," Nick proclaimed.

And so, the chase continued.

"Seriously, how many beatdowns do we gotta lay on this guy before he gets it?!" Nozomi exclaimed.

"As many as it takes," Nick responded. "We'll _make_ him understand that Sam isn't just some trophy to display because that's all you care about."

"Yeah, that jerko wouldn't know what love was if it bit him in the..." Alex started.

"_Alex!"_ Sam gasped.

"...what? I was gonna say 'keester'," Alex replied. "I'm leaving the bad words to you and Nick right now."

"Wait, do you think that James might try to book it out of Europe and go after our moms?" Clover asked. "Even if they're safe at W.O.O.H.P., I wouldn't put it past that sleazeball to try something like that!"

"I don't think we'll have to worry about _that_, Clover," Sam admitted. "I'm pretty sure he wants his revenge on me, first and foremost."

"Which means more beatdowns for mister nutball!" May exclaimed.

"Target sighted!" Bridget shouted. "Let me soften him up for y'all. _Sonic Mode Online!_"

Once transformed, Bridget started running forward extremely fast, so much so that James didn't even have time to turn around before Bridget reached him, grabbed him by his shirt collar, then spun around and tossed him backwards, stopping right in front of the rest of the spies.

James looked up just in time to see Sam looking down at him, cracking her knuckles with a _very_ vexed expression.

"Get up," Sam growled.

"Don't think you're intimidating me," James cackled.

Nick immediately thrust his hand out, enveloping James in his psychic hold and lifting him into the air. "When a lady tells you to get up, you _get up_, asshole," Nick taunted.

Sam didn't waste any time in attacking James while he was helpless, landing at least four hard punches (two across the face, definitely well-deserved) before lifting her right leg upwards and snapping it down so that her foot (heel included) slammed into the back of James' head and drove him into the ground.

"Oh, we're not done with you yet," Sam proclaimed.

"All right, let's commence the beatdowns!" May exclaimed, shifting into a fighting stance.

(From **Mat49324**)

"You've got a TON of nerve taking us away just to win Sam back," Mat growled at James.

"I'm totally with my true love on this," Sam quipped in agreement.

Mat gave James a left hook, and he even put his foot on James' chest as he and Sam gave him a death-defying look each.

"Sammy really was heartbroken when you took us!" Clover added. "And don't think you're getting away scot-free for likely seeing under my nightie, too!"

Considering Alex and Mat heard that loud and clear, nobody minded Clover unleashing some anger on James first.

"I might have..." James tried to say before he was met with a left hook from Clover. "Glanced... but nothing... more."

Clover got him between the pauses in his sentences. James had taken 4 punches total – Clover ending it with a right hook to James' stomach.

"One glance under Clover's nightie isn't gonna make a difference one iota!" Alex exclaimed as she went next. "Considering you're trying to win Sam back in the most twisted of ways, what you did to _my_ Nick's morale is _not_ going unnoticed from me, pal!"

Nick gave a smile as Alex took her frustrations out on James. Britney had no past history with James, but it was no secret she despised him; all she did was give him a total of four slaps across his face.

"You'll never find someone, ever!" Britney exclaimed.

"_Especially_ with _your_ twisted view of love!" Haruka shouted.

"You've got a lot of nerve thinking of women as possessions, _buddy_," May growled, moving in after Britney's last slap to grab James and german suplex him back into the ground. "I had to deal with someone like that with the Jellyfish Pirates, and _oof_, did that guy grind my gears."

"And another thing," Nozomi proclaimed, flipping over May to drive her feet into James' stomach. "I may be Nick's ex, but at least we're still close friends, because I _respect _him, unlike you and _your_ whacked designs on love!"

"Had enough?!" Dawn exclaimed to James.

James shook his head, and still managed to get to his feet (no surprise since he took no hits to the lower body).

"This is FAR from over," James cackled. "I've been saving the best for last here..."

The twelve of them gasped as James reached in his pocket.

"Trying that invisibility again, huh?" Sam quipped. "NOT a smart thing to do."

"It's not invisibility... sweetie," James said.

Hearing "sweetie" made Mat and Sam totally cringe, especially Sam after the previous encounter.

"What I'm about to do will ultimately _guarantee_ that I'll have my girl back," James declared, still being valiant.

James pulled out another vial with a serum of a different color.

"When I'm done with you," James sneered, eyeing Mat and Alex. "Two of you will be out of my way for good before I make my grand escape."

Oddly enough to the spies, James also whipped out a weapon, too – a laser. He fired it and chains blasted out around Alex and Mat before either could even have a chance to react.

"One of you won't feel love anymore in addition," James added, taking his new serum. "After I feed one or both of you this... Sam will be all mine again!"

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"Wait, what is that new serum you have?!" Bridget exclaimed.

"None of your business," James proclaimed, raising the flask with his "new" serum. "All I need to do is give them this, and that'll be the end of the problem!"

James began to move the serum towards Alex, but Nick wasn't having any of that.

"Stop," Nick growled.

"Oh? And what will you do if I _don't_?" James taunted.

To James's surprise, Nick smiled. "Oh, just... well, _this_."

Nick raised his hand, and before James could react, golden light exploded outwards from Nick's hand, enveloping the entire nearby area in a bubble of light and grinding time within the bubble to a complete halt.

"I don't know a situation where this power _isn't_ useful," Nick teased before moving forward to blast the chains off of Alex and Mat with quick bursts, followed by moving them to a safe distance, then finishing by moving to behind James, undoing the time freeze, then blasting him in the back with a Final Shine Attack.

Surprisingly, this didn't make James drop his new serum, though a small bit of it did spill out and splat on the ground.

"W-wait, how did you...?! What _sorcery_?!" James shouted.

"Once again, you underestimated us," Nick responded.

"Thanks for the save, bro," Mat stated. "I owe ya one."

"Don't mention it," Nick quipped, high-fiving Mat. "It's just what friends do."

"And once again, my awesome psychic boyfriend pulls through!" Alex giggled, leaning over to kiss Nick before focusing on James.

"The only reason you pulled that off is because we weren't expecting it," Nick stated. "So don't think you can get away with that again."

James, however, simply smirked.

"Okay, _now_ you're really getting on my nerves with that stupid smile!" Alex exclaimed. "What _seriously_ makes you think you're going to win this?!"

James responded by flinging something from his hand towards the spies, Nick specifically. Before Nick could react, though, the device exploded into a bright flash and the shrill sound of scraping metal.

Drained as he was from using his time freeze power, Nick was unable to defend himself and was instantly knocked unconscious.

"NICK!" Alex screamed.

"Oh, crapbaskets!" Melissa shouted.

"You're mine!" James laughed, once again firing chains from his futuristic laser pistol to ensnare Alex and Mat and pull them towards him.

"I swear, James, if you _even_..." Sam growled.

"I wouldn't come _any closer_ if I were you," James cackled, pushing Alex and Mat dangerously close to the edge of the bridge. "One more step, and I push them _both_ to their demise. And considering your psychic pack rat is out of commission, I wouldn't expect a miracle anytime soon. So? What'll it be, _Sammy_?"

The spies stood still, trying to figure a way out of this conundrum.

Sam had to admit, James had them at an impasse at the moment.

What were they going to do?

_To be continued..._

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_Next time on Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear..._

Sam: Ooh, this doesn't look good.

May: Yeah, this jerkhole totally cheated! Just let me at him!

Nozomi: Hold on, May. We've gotta get Alex and Mat away from him first before we commence any more beatdowns.

Haruka: Come on, Nick, please wake up!

James: It's no use. His mistake for challenging me.

Sam: Ooh, _that _is _it._ I've had all I can stands, _and I can't stands no more!_

Clover: Sammy, wait!

Sam: I'm _done_ dealing with you, James! I think it's finally time I _ripped you a new one_ for everything you've put us through!

James: Oh, please do try and entertain me!

May: Well, loyal readers, can we take down mister evil boyfriend and save our friends from certain doooooooooooooom? It all goes down next time on the final act of _Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear_, "Love and Justice"!

Alex: That episode title sounds like something Vash the Stampede would say. I'm not the only one who sees that, right?


	3. Love and Justice

_Previously on Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear..._

"And once again, my awesome psychic boyfriend pulls through!" Alex giggled, leaning over to kiss Nick before focusing on James.

"The only reason you pulled that off is because we weren't expecting it," Nick stated. "So don't think you can get away with that again."

James, however, simply smirked.

"Okay, _now_ you're really getting on my nerves with that stupid smile!" Alex exclaimed. "What _seriously_ makes you think you're going to win this?!"

James responded by flinging something from his hand towards the spies, Nick specifically. Before Nick could react, though, the device exploded into a bright flash and the shrill sound of scraping metal.

Drained as he was from using his time freeze power, Nick was unable to defend himself and was instantly knocked unconscious.

"NICK!" Alex screamed.

"Oh, crapbaskets!" Melissa shouted.

"You're mine!" James laughed, once again firing chains from his futuristic laser pistol to ensnare Alex and Mat and pull them towards him.

"I swear, James, if you _even_..." Sam growled.

"I wouldn't come _any closer_ if I were you," James cackled, pushing Alex and Mat dangerously close to the edge of the bridge. "One more step, and I push them _both_ to their demise. And considering your psychic pack rat is out of commission, I wouldn't expect a miracle anytime soon. So? What'll it be, _Sammy_?"

The spies stood still, trying to figure a way out of this conundrum.

Sam had to admit, James had them at an impasse at the moment.

What were they going to do?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(The pages constantly turn, no matter how long the reader takes. When one story ends, another story will inevitably start. In the end, there is only a new beginning.)

**Mat49324** and **The Blue Time Ranger** are proud to present:

_Totally Spies!: __Secrets Near and Dear_

**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**Story Created:** November 13th, 2019

**Story Summary:** The sixth joint project between Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger. It seems like things are finally calming down after the spies' harrowing adventure in Tokyo, but alas, no such luck. On what seems like a relatively normal day, three of the spies are kidnapped by an old enemy of the spies, one Sam had hoped she would never see again. Now, James will only release his hostages if Sam gets back together with him, but Sam knows she'll _never_ do that, so the only other option is a good old-fashioned search and rescue. However, this may lead Sam and Alex to realize that their parents _still_ don't know they have boyfriends. Will they be able to spill the beans, or is the secret already out?

**On Today's Episode: **James continues his madness-induced revenge scheme, fully convinced that Sam will return to him despite all the atrocities he's committed, and now he's planning on finding his way to W.O.O.H.P. and going after the spies' mothers. It's a mad dash to stop the evil ex-boyfriend before he can escape and wreak more havoc. Can the spies take down James once and for all?

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** Mat49324 and The Blue Time Ranger do not own anything related to Totally Spies or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Marathon Media Group, Image Entertainment Corporation, Vincent Chalvon-Demersay, and David Michel. The only things of this story we DO own are any characters created by us truly for the story (in this case, Nick, Haruka, Bridget, May, Nozomi, Dawn, and Melissa on my side, and Mathew on his side). Any characters or things we don't own, we are just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of our readers. Besides, if we _did_ own Totally Spies, which we _don't_, why would we be writing fiction on a fan site?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Episode 3: Love and Justice

(From **Mat49324**)

**1:59 PM – London Bridge**

Alex and Mat were still tied up while James safely held them by the fabric of their jumpsuits.

"You are NOT getting away with killing our friends!" Clover shouted as she secretly searched for a gadget.

"Let us go, James Stewart!" Mat declared.

Haruka and Dawn snickered at what Mat said, especially when there were a lot of famous people named James – James Stewart, Cagney, and Michener just to name a few.

"You need to pipe down and let go of _my girl!_" James ordered at Mat, pulling his jumpsuit a notch tighter.

He then turned back to Sam and sneered.

All Sam could do was give a devilish look of nothing but hatred in her eyes. She growled and _almost_ considered she had no choice but to agree to reconcile with James to save Mat and Alex from two watery graves.

"Don't do it, Sammy!" Alex encouraged, virtually afraid of a watery grave.

She looked back at Nick, who was still unconscious; Melissa and Haruka were still trying to revive him.

"Do I have a decision, Sam?" James asked. "Do I get you back?"

Sam almost began to say "yes" as Clover and the other spies looked at her. Clover was about ready to protest and say something to Sam, but James shouted over her.

"Stop running your mouth, girl!" James shouted. "The only voice I want to hear is Sam's."

Nobody took another step, but all the spies were VERY tempted to.

"James, you..." Sam started as she looked at Mat mouthing something to her.

"You said I'm better than he is," Mat mouthed at Sam.

Alex saw Mat's actions and motioned her head at Mat almost as if that were Nick in her position; she even mouthed something of her own to Sam as if to say "Mat's your true love."

Fortunately, James did not even hear, nor know what Mat mouthed to Sam, or even Alex for that matter.

"I know you'll come back to me," said James with a devilish grin. "I can taste it."

"James..." Sam declared. "I don't know how many times I have to _brick_ this into your skull, but I'll say it as many times as I have to. I will NEVER come back to you!"

James was above and beyond angry Sam _still_ resisted.

"Okay, _that does it_!" James exclaimed.

"Face it, James!" May exclaimed back. "Sam DOES NOT want you back! Time for you to move on!"

"Admit it!" Melissa shouted. "You screwed up here more times than the world's worst klutz in a china shop!"

"Doesn't matter," said James. "Now, Sam, I'm giving you one last chance... now _come back and be with me!_"

"NEVER!" Sam screamed. "ESPECIALLY if you're gonna win me back by killing one of _my best friends... AND my true love!_"

"Fine then..." James growled. "Then I'll _TAKE you back myself!_"

"No, YOU are gonna let Alex and Mat go!" Bridget shouted.

"That's right!" Sam declared. "I'm _done_ dealing with you, James! I think it's finally time I _ripped you a new one_ for everything you've put us through!

"Too late," James sneered.

He then nudged Alex and Mat by their backs, causing them to fall like anvils down to the water below. Both of them screamed as James took advantage of the spies' horrified feelings to snag Sam yet again.

"You'd better retract those grabby hands _right now_," Bridget proclaimed.

"Hands _off_, sicko!" May growled. "You're just lucky I don't still have my anchor!"

"LET ME GO, JAMES!" Sam yelled as she struggled to free herself.

"You'll be just fine," James declared as he continued to leave the group with Sam. "You're taking me to your mother and telling her you and I are officially back together!"

Nozomi stepped up and tried to free Sam, who continued to struggle to break free from James' grasp.

"Oh, do you think you're going to do anything worthwhile?" James laughed.

Nozomi simply responded by leaping into the air and kicking James in the head with a flying spin kick. This attack loosened James' grip just enough for Sam to break free.

"Nice one, Nozomi!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Now _stay down_ this time, fool," Nozomi growled. "I don't know how you're still conscious with all the times we've hit you in the head."

"You're deranged, you know that?" Sam growled.

When Sam was free, she dashed away to see Britney just jump down to save Alex and Mat from a watery grave.

"SAMMY!" Clover exclaimed.

"Not now, Clover!" Sam screamed as she climbed up the railing.

Clover didn't need three guesses to figure out what Sam was going to do.

"Come on, Clover!" Nozomi exclaimed.

"Right!" Clover exclaimed. "Alex and Mat totally need our help!"

"The rest of you, stop James!" Sam shouted to Bridget and the others. "He's trying to get to W.O.O.H.P.!"

Everyone was alarmed, and Nick was still unconscious. With that, Clover and Nozomi came behind Sam, who looked and saw Bridget and Melissa go after James.

"DON'T WORRY, MAT! I'M COMING!" Sam screamed with a determined look on her face as she splashed in to save her boyfriend – and Alex, too – before it was too late for both of them.

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"I hope she makes it in time," Haruka sighed before turning back to May, who was still trying to bring Nick back to consciousness. "Any luck, May?"

"I'm trying everything I can, Haruka," May replied. "Come on, Nick, _wake the fork up!_ Your girlfriend's in big trouble!"

Almost as if May had spoken some kind of magic keyword, Nick's eyes snapped open and his psychic aura flared to life.

"Where is she?" Nick asked.

"That asshole pushed her and Mat off of the bridge," May answered.

"Say no more," Nick replied, dashing forward to dive off the bridge himself.

Everyone else held their breath as about a minute passed with no sign of anyone.

Thankfully, they could breathe easy when they saw Nick floating back up to the bridge, encased in a large psychic bubble, and carrying Sam, Alex, Mat, and Britney with him in the bubble.

"Never underestimate someone with psychic powers," Nick quipped, guiding the bubble back to safe ground before releasing it.

Nozomi and Clover came running to the others; Alex and Mat were coughing a bit, but both opened their eyes.

"MAT!" Sam exclaimed, leaping over to hug Mat.

"I gotcha, Sammy," Mat replied, opening his arms to hug his girlfriend.

"Please tell me you're okay, my poor Mat," Sam near-sobbed.

"Only a little wet, thanks to Nick's quick thinking," Mat answered and turned away to cough twice. "Don't worry, Sam, that jerk doesn't intimidate me. I was more worried about _you_."

"Trust me, Mat, he's going to pay for this," Sam replied, hugging Mat tighter. "I'm just _so happy_ that you're okay..."

"I'm tough, just like you," Mat responded. "I love you, Sammy."

"I love you, too, Mat," Sam answered as the two leaned in for a kiss.

"You doing okay, Alex?" Nick asked.

"Other than almost being a water pancake, I'm all right," Alex giggled, hugging her boyfriend. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

"You know that I'd do it over and over again, even if I know you're strong yourself," Nick responded. "Because that's what a good boyfriend does, right?"

"Dang skippy," Alex laughed, before looking Nick straight in the eyes. "I love you, Nick."

"I love you, too, Alex," Nick replied as the two kissed.

"Honestly, I don't know else to say other than just thanking Mat for being such an awesome friend," Clover stated.

"No kidding!" Alex exclaimed. "Seriously, Mat, _you rock_."

"Aw, you guys..." Mat laughed.

"As much as I'd like to see the lovey-dovey continue, I think priority one needs to be finding James and bringing him down once and for good," Haruka proclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "Bridget and Melissa went to chase him while you guys were busy saving each other, so I have no idea where James could be going..."

Almost immediately, Haruka's X-Powder began to chirp, and she opened it to see Bridget and Melissa dodging attacks from James.

"What's the sit-rep, you guys?" Haruka asked.

"We cornered James at the Big Ben, but he's _really_ getting antsy!" Bridget exclaimed, activating Sonic Mode to lunge forward. "We might need you guys' help!"

"We're on the way," Nick responded, typing in a command on his X-Powder to call the Skyskimmer.

**2:27 PM – London, England (The Big Ben)**

"Stand _still_, goddamn you!" James exclaimed, trying to get a bead on Bridget's constant movement, but with Sonic Mode, it was no use.

Bridget slipped through James' wild swinging to land a punch to his face, and Melissa followed up with a flying kick to his back.

"Okay, I'm done with you," James growled, stepping back to reach for his new serum.

"Um, what exactly does that stuff do?" Melissa asked.

"I'm sure as hell not waiting to find out!" Bridget shouted, rushing forward to attack James and keep him from using whatever his 'secret weapon' was.

"Just give it up!" James cackled, still acting overconfident.

"_FINAL SHINE ATTACK!"_

A blast of neon-green energy fell from the sky and exploded on contact with James, sending him tumbling and struggling to keep his serum intact.

"You again?!" James growled. "What's it going to take to keep you down?!"

"A lot more than _your_ pathetic efforts, that's for sure!" Nick shot back.

"Wait, that's the serum you tried to force on me!" Sam exclaimed. "Are you gonna tell us what it's for before I have to wring your neck?!"

"Fine, I will," said James. "The one I tried to give you after snatching you was to rekindle your feelings for me, but I got a backup serum that'll keep me standing... just like how I barely took damage from your laser toys."

The spies gasped as James swatted his shoulder and felt no damage, almost like he was wearing an invisible suit of armor. With that, a helmet came out of nowhere, having been used James' own invisibility serum, but it was no ordinary helmet – it had the W.O.O.H.P. insignia on it.

"Whoops, guess that was bound to come into view sooner or later," said James.

"He stole one of the helmets from W.O.O.H.P.?!" Dawn exclaimed. **(Author's Note: think season 5's "Virtual Stranger".)**

"It certainly cushioned your blows on me, that's for sure," James cackled.

"Oh, now you've _really_ checked into the looney bin," Alex growled. "What do you say we end this nutball, everyone?"

"I couldn't agree more, Alex," Sam proclaimed as everybody shifted into a fighting stance. "This ends right here and _right now_, James! Don't think you're escaping our wrath this time!"

Nick crossed his arms across his body and let his aura explode around him. "This is the end of the line, mister psycho ex!" Nick shouted. "You won't be even _glancing_ at us _ever again_ by the time we're through with you!"

(From **Mat49324**)

"Oh, will I...?" James sneered.

"Whether you know it or not, you've crossed a _number_ of lines with us!" Mat exclaimed.

"Mat couldn't have said it better," Nick added, his psychic aura flaring again. "You kidnapped _my girlfriend, of all people..._"

"And_ you broke my heart by spy-napping my best friends and my true love..._" Sam added. "And that's just for _starters_!"

Sam immediately darted for James, making sure to duck under the punch she knew was coming her way and crouching down before launching an uppercut into James' jaw, causing him to stumble backwards.

This gave Sam an opportunity to lunge forward with a double-footed flying kick to James' stomach.

"Now are you going to take the hint?!" Sam shouted.

James made a beeline to try to get a hug from Sam, but Sam didn't have any of it. She dodged him, which caused James to not stop in time and fall off the tower down to the concrete street below.

"Uh-oh!" Clover exclaimed.

"Sleazebag or not, _nobody_ deserves to be confined to a wheelchair for life!" Alex screamed.

"I'm on it," Mat said with a slight sigh and used his jetpack backpack.

"I'm coming, too, bro," said Nick.

Haruka used her jetpack backpack, too to go with Nick and Mat. The three of them managed to get to James in time.

"Don't expect us to be grateful," said Haruka as the three safely brought James to the ground.

"Yeah, as far as I know, this is the only break you're gonna get," Mat added in agreement.

The rest of the spies came to the ground, too, via their own jetpack backpacks.

"Simply because we don't want our suspects in two pieces, or in broken bones for that matter," said Britney.

"Now, we settle this here and now," said Nick to James.

"I couldn't agree more," said James.

Alex and Mat struck first on James, but he swiftly moved out of the way. James tried to capture them again, but Alex and Mat knew better.

"Don't think I've forgotten you peeking under my nightie, James!" Clover exclaimed as she lashed a forward kick on James.

It sent him flat on his back, but James managed to get up, still determined to take Sam back.

"For someone who planned to kidnap the President before, you're obviously not too smart," Bridget quipped.

Haruka and Nozomi teamed up next, but James learned a bit from the past battle with Haruka and managed to dodge more of Haruka's attacks – Nozomi as well.

"Sorry, girlies, but I'm on to your games now," James laughed as he continued to dodge.

"Well, then, how come you haven't heard of a distraction?" Nozomi giggled.

Before James could question that, Haruka and Nozomi dove in opposite directions as Nick fired a Final Shine Attack into James' back, sending him flying down the street.

"If that new serum means you can take a lot of punishment, then I'm going to _enjoy_ this, you son of a bitch," Nick proclaimed, extending his hand to capture James in his psychic grip and fling him around a few times.

After another tag team attack from Melissa and Dawn, in which they both kicked James in the side from opposite angles, then knocked him away with a flying kick each, a slight feeling of failure to win Sam back seemed to come over James.

Britney finally ended the fracas by using the Net Throwing Extendable Rod Mascara, which ensnared James, who continued to struggle to get free.

"Now you know how it feels to be part of a school of fish caught in a net," Mat quipped.

"Don't even try that invisibility tactic," Nick added. "I've already got that wrapped around my little finger, James!"

Nick flared up his psychic aura and fueled up a Final Shine Attack, but James conceded and surrendered, mentally and physically defeated. Jerry landed the W.O.O.H.P. jet nearby.

"Well done, spies," said Jerry as his extra agents took James into custody.

"Thanks, Jerry," said Mat.

Sam, on the other hand, was smirking at James as he was being apprehended.

"Before you take me in," said James to Jerry and all of W.O.O.H.P. "Please let me have two minutes with Sam?"

Sam looked shocked at that as Jerry consciously honored James' request, but agents still kept him cuffed. Mat came behind Sam as James gave his speech to Sam.

"Sam, I know this ship sailed a long time ago but... I wanted to apologize for everything," James began. "I guess I missed us together and wanted us to be back together so badly."

Sam acted like she wasn't fazed and almost didn't believe a word James said.

"James... I didn't want you back," Sam said. "You had good moments, but Mat has surprised me with dinner... and gave me roses just yesterday; I am NOT leaving him."

James sighed in defeat, the fact finally sinking in for him.

"I guess my feelings for you never went away, even after you foiled my plans," James admitted. "I thought maybe I still had a chance..."

"Well, you _wasted_ that chance," Sam replied.

"I know you don't believe me, Sam, but I _am_ sorry for going the lengths I did," James concluded.

The whole time, Mat held Sam, but she didn't have to be restrained. Instead, Sam looked on, totally taken aback.

"I hate to say it, but I think he spoke the truth there," said Mat as James was taken into custody.

"Sammy, are you okay?" Alex asked as she and Clover and Britney came forward to comfort their best friend.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Sam admitted. "This mission's just been _really_ stressful, considering everything he's done..."

Sam gasped in surprise as Mat leaped forward to hug her.

"Sam, I know it's been a tough day for you, but remember," Mat stated. "You can lean on us whenever you're feeling down."

To Sam's surprise, Nick was the next to hug her. "Mat's right, Sammy," Nick proclaimed. "You all did the same thing for me after we took down Professor Genesis. I figured it was time to return the favor."

As all of the other spies joined in the group hug, Sam couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"I really do have the best friends ever, don't I?" Sam giggled.

"Hate to interrupt the celebrations," said Jerry, centering his attention on Sam, Clover, and Alex just as the group hug dispersed. "But, girls, we are working on sending your moms back to Europe soon."

Sam, Clover, and Alex looked on in surprise, but Sam and Alex had good reason to appreciate their moms accepting Mat and Nick as their respective boyfriends.

"Jerry, can you put our moms on before that?" Sam asked. "We kinda wanna say goodbye to them before we jet back to the States."

"Right away, spies," Jerry replied.

"Sammy, is everything okay?" Gabby immediately asked.

"No problem, Gabby," Nick responded. "The psycho ex got it together and surrendered."

"Oh, that's good," Carmen sighed. "Are you all heading home now?"

"Yup," Clover quipped. "I am _so ready_ to relax now that we're done with this nutball. Maybe a nice trip to..."

"_Clover_," May sharply replied. "Your 'baguette dreamboat' ain't goin' anywhere, okay? If we ever have another mission in France, I'm sure he'll still be there waiting for you to swoon over."

"...was I really that obvious?" Clover wondered, which got the entire group laughing.

"Say, Sam?" Gabby asked. "Can I ask one more favor before you go home?"

"What is it, mom?" Sam responded.

"Can I get a picture of you and Mat? You know, for posterity?" Gabby offered.

"Oh, and would it be okay if I asked the same of you and Nick, Alex?" Carmen asked.

"Eh, why the heck not?" Alex responded.

With that, the two couples posed with their significant others while May used Sam's X-Powder to snap the pictures.

It was one more memory the spies were able to share, despite everything that had happened today.

**6:48 PM – Spies' Villa**

While Clover and Nozomi made dinner, nobody had an urge for more water (maybe outside of boiling water in the kitchen). Nick and Alex were having a quiet moment together downstairs.

"Ah, it's so peaceful, isn't it?" Alex quipped. She and Nick were sitting together on the couch with their arms around each other, just enjoying each other's company.

"Yeah, enjoy it while you can, because I'm pretty sure it won't be much longer before someone else comes in to ruin our fun," Nick teased.

"True that," Alex giggled, leaning over to kiss Nick on the cheek. "Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something... a little personal?"

"Shoot."

Alex hesitated for a brief second before summoning her courage. "Why, exactly, did you fall in love with _me_? I mean, I know it's a silly question, but... I don't know if you ever explained that."

Nick gazed into Alex's eyes as he explained. "Well, honestly, a few reasons. One of them's your indomitable spirit. You've just got this _energy_ about you that draws people in and makes them not want to let go. Another's that, like me, you're the type of person who always supports her friends. It's really nice to see that that's something we have in common. ...well, and it definitely helps that I thought you were cute."

Alex couldn't help but giggle at that. "So... how _long_ have you been in love with me?"

Nick almost immediately blushed at that question. "Truthfully... almost as soon as I met you," Nick admitted. "It felt like love at first sight, but, anime cliché as it might be, I kept over-worrying myself about whether or not you'd feel the same way."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, Clover said that she and Sam knew about your crush on me for a while, but didn't say anything to give us a chance," Alex realized. "I kinda feel silly for not noticing anything for a while."

"But hey, at least we've got each other _now_, right?" Nick replied.

"We sure do," Alex replied as the two leaned in for a kiss.

Meanwhile, Sam was in her room thinking. She was about to lie down when she heard a knock.

"Come in..."

She saw it was Mat.

**("Falling" by Keahiwai plays)**

"Mat?" Sam asked. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, I just wanted to check on you after all that," said Mat.

"Oh... I'm getting better," Sam answered as Mat sat on his knees near her bed.

"Still thinking about James?" Mat deduced.

Sam nodded. "I guess there was a part of me that was hoping to be back on good terms with him."

"Hey, like I told you before," said Mat as he adjusted Sam's hair, and then stroked her cheek. "James never loved you the way I do. I'm sure James had his good spots, but I know I did at least one or two things _he_ didn't."

"I know," Sam whispered, then caressed Mat's cheek. "But I didn't want him back after everything he did... then and _especially_ now."

The two lovers then shared a deep kiss and exchanged a heartfelt "I love you."

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

"Hey, Nick!" May exclaimed as she raced into the living room. "I got a letter from Mira!"

"Really?" Nick responded. "How are your friends doing?"

"Oh, they're up to their usual antics," May giggled as she reached into the envelope and showed Nick and Alex the photograph that Mira, the current leader of May's childhood friend circle, the "Jellyfish Pirates", had enclosed.

"Hey, I think I see someone new," Alex quipped.

"Bingo, Alex! They recruited a new member!" May proclaimed, pointing to the new girl in the photo, a girl about May's age with long, flowing blue hair (it appeared to be dyed) tied up with two big yellow ribbons and dark red eyes, blushing at how forward Mira was being in bringing her into the group shot. In bright green text above the Jellyfish Pirates was Mira's writing, with an arrow pointing to the new girl, reading "Say hi to our new member, Dizzy!"

"Mira says that Dizzy's a bit shy, but gung-ho about protecting people!" May explained. "They saw her standing up to a bully who was being a real jerkface to one of her friends, so, naturally, Mira thought she'd be a perfect fit for the Jellyfish Pirates!"

Mat and Sam came downstairs in the meantime, arm in arm.

"It's good to see they're doing all right without Johnny," Alex stated.

"It's like I said, Johnny always admitted that if he wasn't the leader, it'd be either me or Mira," May quipped.

"I'm just glad you decided to stay with us, May," Nick responded.

"Awww, you," May giggled, leaning over to hug Nick. "No way was I going to leave my new friends in the lurch, not when we have so many superbaddies to stomp on!"

"Sounds like you guys are having fun," Haruka stated, having just walked in alongside Nozomi.

"Yup! Just telling my buddies about the newest member of the Jellyfish Pirates!" May proclaimed.

"Oh, hey, I just remembered something," Nozomi stated. "We were sharing stories in the pool before this mission, and Haruka was saying something about a time she'd caught Nick staring at her in a bikini when she..."

"Nozomi, _shut it_!" Nick exclaimed, immediately leaping to keep Nozomi quiet. "Alex is _right there!_"

"It's okay, silly," Haruka laughed. "It happened a little before we met Alex and the others, so it's not considered cheating."

"Well?" Alex stated. "Let's hear it!"

"I promise I won't interrupt this time," May cut in.

"Okay, so it was about a year before we moved to Beverly Hills," Haruka explained. "It was during swimming classes in gym."

"And, as I'm sure I've told you, I used to not be able to swim for jack crap," Nick proclaimed.

"Which basically meant, since our instructor kinda wanged chung at swim coaching, and I was pretty good at it, I figured it'd be up to me to get my buddy to be a master swimmer!" Haruka stated. "So, on our first lesson, when I came out in my swimsuit, Nick was... well, he was transfixed, shall we say."

"And here was me worried she was gonna knock my head around for staring, even if I wasn't ogling or anything like _that_," Nick admitted. "I guess I can count my lucky stars she was actually flattered."

"Okay, and here comes the best part," Haruka giggled. "When I saw him staring, I decided to tease him a bit, so I struck a pose and said 'What? Are you so entranced by my beauty that you have no words left?' Guess what Nick did?"

"What? What'd he do?" May asked.

"He sputtered so hard that he slipped and fell into the pool!" Haruka proclaimed, which got everyone present laughing except Nick.

"Not my finest moment," Nick sighed. "Thankfully, Haruka got all the laughing numbnuts to back off."

"That sounds like it was quite the swim class," Alex giggled.

"Ah, the madness of youth," Haruka teased.

At that precise moment, Clover and Nozomi poked their heads out from the kitchen. "We have an important announcement!" Nozomi exclaimed. "Dinner's ready, everybody, so come on in and chow down!"

"Well, that certainly got my appetite going!" Alex laughed. "Let's munch, guys!"

(From **Mat49324**)

"That was some bikini story, Haruka," Mat commented.

"Totally," Britney quipped. "I'd love to have seen the look on Nick's face, though."

They then saw Clover and Nozomi had made salad, rice, and fried chicken.

"Nice," Alex commented.

"I sure hope Mat surprises us with his spaghetti again though," said Melissa.

"Yeah, that totally rocked," said Dawn.

"Thanks, guys," said Mat as they helped themselves. "Spaghetti's one of my favorites – I can thank my grandma back home for that."

"That's the best spaghetti I've tasted in a LONG time," said Bridget.

Sam was no different.

"Well, you may not have to wait long," said Mat. "I eat spaghetti just about every Tuesday – as part of a routine I've had since childhood – so if you guys want some, just ask."

"Every Tuesday?" May quipped. "Oddly specific day, huh?"

"I figured it'd be, like, a Saturday," Nozomi replied. "You know, Spaghetti Saturday just rolls off the tongue, right?"

"Once in a while that's the case," said Mat. "But my grandma did this for me through grade school."

"So, off that subject," said Clover as she took her seat. "Is your race ready to go, Mat?"

"Sure is," said Mat. "Ready when you guys are."

Sam felt a lot better knowing James was out of her life after the last mission. She was able to eat her meal wholly. Mat seemed to be happiest to see it and he gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"We'll all be here for you, Sammy," said Alex.

"Especially us," said Clover as she and Britney nodded.

"And you got guys who care for you, too," Nick quipped.

"I don't take my friends for granted, especially all of you," Mat added. "And especially not Sammy here after the Vegas Supercross – not today, not tomorrow, not ever."

Sam blushed about it; her morale seemed to be improving after they all saw a smile on her face.

After everyone was finished, everyone pitched in to help Clover and Nozomi clean up just like Mat when he surprised them all with his spaghetti.

"Well, I'd say Mat's got another race to show us," said Haruka after Nozomi put away the last of the dishes.

"Yep," said Britney.

Oddly enough, Sam, Clover, and Alex had disappeared from the group. They'd just returned before someone could ask.

"Okay, where were you?" Nick asked them.

Mat seemed to be interested, too.

"Oh, Sammy had wanted to talk to us about tomorrow," said Clover being secretive.

They nodded in affirmation.

"So, what's with this particular race, Mat?" Alex asked as the group headed back to the TV.

"Dallas '03 – well, I told Sam this, but that was the race that told me 'don't leave,' and I didn't," said Mat.

He decided to show them the entire broadcast. Calling the race were Todd Harris and 1983 Supercross champ David Bailey.

"I think this will make you understand why I consider myself a Chad Reed fan," said Mat.

When he began the broadcast, 250cc heat 1 showed Chad Reed and a bunch of Yamaha riders riding 1 thru 6. It wasn't until lap 2 when #37 Ryan Clark crashed and Mat got a chuckle out of what Todd Harris and David Bailey said.

David: And there goes... that's what it looks like when you go down...

Todd: [Ivan] Tedesco's down...

"Ooh," Nick quipped at Ryan Clark's crash. "That was bad."

David: And Tedesco... the wrong place at the wrong time again; at least he didn't go down.

Todd: If Clark was wearing red, would Tedesco have run over him?

David: ...Maybe.

Mat laughed at hearing that.

"You think he'd have?" Haruka asked Mat.

"I don't know," said Mat with a chuckle.

During heat 2, Ricky Carmichael on the red Honda #4 was leading until...

David: Just blasted out of that corner and we watch him quadruple his way into that turn... here comes the whoop section— OH... OH NO! Lost his balance up over the top of the berm.

Todd: Unbelievable!

David: THQ, one of Ricky's sponsors, really showing him some love there. Now it's gonna get good because he's gotta catch [Sean] Hamblin and [Heath] Voss; Voss from nearby San Antonio... pretty nearby. This is gonna be interesting.

Todd: Larry Ward's in front of him as we look at it one more time...

David: He jumps in there a little bit hot... and just high sided – he can't lean into the corner 'cause he clipped that jump and he missed the rear brake I think.

"Oh, goodness," Bridget reacted at Carmichael's crash.

Sean Hamblin took over the lead during a piece about KTM rider Kenny Bartram having his bike break in half. Unfortunately on lap 7 was when David Bailey reacted.

David: Oh and the leader is down – Hamblin!

Todd: Sean Hamblin goes down and that makes Voss have to slow down and Hamblin looks like he really has a problem right now – unable to get up... And Hamblin looks like he is seriously injured.

David: I hate this so much, Todd...

Todd: Terrible to see that happen.

David: This season has been... one after the other. I don't know what to attribute that to... I mean, to me it didn't look like Sean was pushing that hard...

The spies cringed at the crash, which was a _BAD_ one.

David: _OH!_

Todd: Oh... comes up short!

David: Yeah the bike folded him a little bit. It kinda missed him, but watch again from another angle – he's gonna just chest plant... _BAM!_

"That's incredibly painful," Clover commented.

All that was left was a battle between Carmichael and Voss for the heat race win, and Carmichael won it, despite making contact with Voss on that YZ450F 4-stroke. Carmichael even said he was "all over the place" in his winner interview.

After highlights of the two semi-finals (and a look of shock on some of the spies' faces at seeing Sean Hamblin back at the gate for the second semi), and the Last Chance Qualifier (with a last-minute charge from #35 Keith Johnson to get the 2nd and final transfer spot to the main behind #43 Josh Demuth), it was time for the 250cc main.

"Okay, here we go," said Mat, knowing this was the part that he liked most.

Todd: Can Carmichael get the jump he needs, or will Chad Reed make it four in a row, folks. It's time to find out who's going to win; keep your eye on the SXGP dot com holeshot... and we'll find out. Drop the dinner, put the babies to bed – it's the 250 main from Dallas, Texas. Carmichael gets a great jump but...

David: Whoa!

Todd: Reed slides to the back behind him!

David: Carmichael and Reed tangled – Reed almost went down down the starting line.

Larry Ward was out front, but was quickly disposed of by Carmichael. #24 Ernesto Fonseca rounded out the top 3 until...

David: And Chad... unbelievable – look at the momentum by Chad! Gets around Fonseca.

Reed had gone from around 6th to 3rd in a matter of seconds. Then, Reed quickly disposed of Larry Ward #10 for 2nd place. Upon view of a replay, the friends got a close-up view of Reed's close call off the start.

Both: _OH!_

Todd: Chad is lucky he didn't break his left ankle!

David: That was close.

Clover and Mat sighed in relief.

Todd: Chad Reed #22 on the Yamaha YZ250 out of Kurri Kurri, New South Wales and here he comes – he's been faster all day through that whoop section...

The race began brewing into a two-man fight between Carmichael and Reed.

David: Here it comes... I thought Chad Reed might have an inside right there... If Ricky wins this, I'm running down there to shake his hand because Chad is going to force him to ride flawless.

"Must've been a good race," Nick said to Mat.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it, bro," Mat quipped.

Just shortly after the broadcast returned from commercial was when Chad Reed made his first pass on Ricky Carmichael.

"Oh... he's got him... _he's got him!_" Mat exclaimed.

Todd: Chad Reed #22 moves into 1st place; Chad Reed – Australian for "winning" right now and he's doing it in Texas!

David: I was about to say last year, [David] Vuillemin had a run at Ricky, he decided to lay up, pass him late in the race, and it didn't work. You give Ricky a second chance, and he'll just turn it up that much more and put you away.

The replay showed Ricky put up _no fight_ on Chad Reed. Britney and Bridget were most surprised. Mat was grinning ear to ear at this battle that was going on; the spies were looking on, intrigued.

Todd: This is the 250 main from Texas Stadium. It is Reed, it is Carmichael, Fonseca, [Nick] Wey, and Ward rounding out the top 5, but the crowd is on their feet...

David: Well, I don't think Carmichael likes to lose...

Todd: There it is... Ricky thought about the block pass there, he just didn't have the position.

Reed and Carmichael made sure they were careful to not ruin the race for the crowd. The two exchanged the lead for the next three turns.

Todd: Oh my goodness – and here comes Carmichael right back!

David: This is total respect right now! They're going, "All right, you know what? I could've parked that guy, but I don't want to."

Nick and Alex seemed to be getting real kicks out of Carmichael and Reed exchanging the lead repeatedly.

"It's like some kind of demented tug-of-war, isn't it?" Nick quipped.

"Yeah, but with giant bikes," Alex replied. "I've seen some out-there things in my life, but that's definitely a highlight."

Carmichael then began to inch away from Reed little by little.

"This _is_ exciting," Sam said, not helping but feel on the edge of her seat.

On lap 10 was when Reed made yet another pass on Carmichael.

David: It's starting to heat up again now...

Todd: Here it comes... the fans are on their feet. Chad Reed, a little more power as he goes through there a little cleaner. Ricky comes right back... as they make their way to the triple. What a show!

Sam could see Mat was grinning like usual.

David: What a difference a year makes! Last year, Carmichael... had a little bit of pressure from Vuillemin at one point in the race, but he was able to hang on and win it... and Chad Reed _didn't even finish the race!_

Todd: Look at this! Ricky looking faster through the whoops.

The very next lap (lap 11) saw Reed make a mistake, but Chad was able to make a last-minute correction and keep Ricky Carmichael from re-taking the lead. Mat sighed in relief while the others looked at him.

"It's exactly how I reacted the first time I watched this," Mat said to them.

Sam and Alex shared a giggle at that.

"Well, Mat, I can kinda read you pretty well, being your girlfriend and all," Sam laughed.

"Tellin' it like it is," Alex giggled.

Reed and Carmichael's lap times were nearly identical.

Todd: Well the fastest lap has been turned in by Chad Reed – a 56.135; Ricky Carmichael a 56.331...

David: Well whoever wins this race... I think if Ricky wins this race, he's gonna look like he won the title because this is important. Chad – Chad's pretty cool; I don't know if we're gonna see that much emotion from him.

Melissa and Dawn seemed to be breathing in relief and ready to jump at the next pass.

"What a race so far," Nick commented.

With 5 laps remaining, there was a battle for 3rd between Ernesto Fonseca and Nick Wey #27. Wey currently occupied 3rd at the moment, while Fonseca tried to take it away from him, and earn his 4th consecutive 3rd place finish.

"Wow, this is close," Clover quipped.

Little by little, Chad Reed began inching away from Ricky Carmichael. Some of the spies were holding their breaths.

David: This is the part of the race where Ricky's always bragged about – "I'm fit! _Nobody_ can touch me at the end of the race!" Right now, Chad Reed is pulling away.

Todd: You've seen "The Thrilla in Manila," well it's "The Throwdown in Dallas."

"That's a cool way to put it," said Melissa.

"Totally," said Dawn.

Before the spies knew it, it was the _final lap_. Reed still held the lead by just under two seconds over Carmichael. The two were approaching the whoops, and about ready to lap Larry Ward, who was running in 7th place.

David: Chad cannot afford a mistake through these whoops.

Reed indeed remained steady through the whoops.

"He's got it... _he's got it!_" Mat exclaimed.

Todd: Your winner in the 250 main from Dallas, number 22 "The Thunder from Down Under" Chad Reed is a perfect 4 for 4! Ricky Carmichael, the goggles come off, the frustration begins because now we have to sit for 2 weeks before Salt Lake City and look at that...

David: Oh, Chad just drops his bike...

Todd: Unbelievable scene as they greet each other... I know Ricky does the classy thing, but that was painful.

David: Now the gap is 13.

"4 rounds ago, it was 25," Mat said. "3 points is the gap between 1st and 2nd place – 25 (1st) and 22 (2nd)."

"But he didn't win the title," Sam said, remembering what Mat told her before.

"Unfortunately, no," said Mat. "But at this time, I didn't care if the field was so thinned out – I wanted someone new to cheer for after Jeremy McGrath's sudden retirement, and I found my guy."

Sam gave him a pat on the back. They then listened through Reed and Carmichael's interviews.

Cameron Steele: Chad Reed, that was probably the most unbelievable ride I've ever seen!

Chad Reed: That was a great ride... that's #1 on my list because Ricky got the holeshot and I was right there in the middle... I just wanted to have a clean race... Like I said a million times – I made the mistakes; that's why I'm 16 points behind...

Cameron: Ricky Carmichael finishing 2nd for the 4th time in a row; Ricky, where is the game plan breaking down?

Ricky Carmichael: I dunno you know – Chad's riding really good; his bike's working good, mine is, too but uh, after that race I think I need to get a little faster, you know what I mean? That was a fun race...

The broadcast was later over.

"Any thoughts, guys?" Mat asked, still with a big grin on his face.

"That was pretty intense," Bridget stated.

"Yeah, especially how Carmichael and Reed kept overtaking each other," May giggled. "That's some edge-of-your-seat action right there!"

Sam gave Mat another pat on the back after that race. "I totally understand what you meant now after what you told me," Sam said to Mat.

"I'm glad you do after that," Mat quipped.

When the spies were preparing for bed, Sam instructed Alex and Clover to meet her in the bathroom in the morning after breakfast so she could lay out how she wanted to execute their surprise on Mat. Just as they all left the bathroom, Sam and Alex happened to bump into their boyfriends.

"Oh, good timing, Sam," said Mat, then summoned his courage. "I was going to ask you... if you don't feel like sleeping alone tonight, maybe you'd... like to crash with me?"

Sam was taken aback. "I was going to ask you the same thing," she said, blushing.

"Well, considering you saved my life tonight," said Mat. "I figured the circumstances were totally perfect for me to ask you that... and to tell you that you can sleep in my room with me _any time_ after that last mission."

"I'd love to, Mat," Sam gasped as the two shared a hug, and Mat gave Sam a kiss on the cheek.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, Alex," Nick said as he turned to his own girlfriend.

"I'll echo what Sammy said and say 'I'd love to', Nick," Alex giggled.

**2:22 AM – Spies' Beach House**

Mat awoke from his bed after a slightly bad dream, and an urge to use the bathroom. Sam was still sound asleep, and she didn't hear Mat get out of bed to go to the bathroom; she did hear him climb back into bed though, but Mat looked a little uneasy as she went back to sleep.

"Sam, I..." Mat started to say.

"Mat, tell me in the morning," Sam groaned.

"No, please hear me now?" Mat requested.

When Sam opened her eyes, she could see the uneasy look on his face.

"I had a chance to think about how you felt after everything James did," Mat admitted to his girlfriend. "But I... I only thought once that I was going to lose you until you outright told him what you did. I'm glad you did though because when he pushed me and Alex over, I... I thought... I don't know..." Mat continued on until his voice started to break, much to Sam's surprise.

"Oh don't cry, Mat... don't cry," said Sam soothingly and holding him. "The girl of your dreams _isn't_ going anywhere... just like **I know** the boy of my dreams isn't going anywhere either... and I'll prove it..."

With that, Sam gave Mat a deep kiss – a kiss Mat naturally returned.

"I love you, Mat," Sam whispered. "I always will."

"I love you, too, Sammy," Mat said back.

"I'll see you in my dreams," said Sam to Mat.

"Same here, Sammy," Mat whispered back.

The two held each other and soothed each other back to sleep.

_Meanwhile..._

Alex slowly returned to consciousness when she felt the other side of the bed rustling. Her eyes opened fully when she saw Nick slightly trembling in his sleep.

"N-Nick?" Alex asked.

"Get... get away from her, you _bastard!_" Nick exclaimed in his sleep before jolting up, now fully awake. "Ugh... w-what...?"

"Nick?" Alex whispered. "Everything okay?"

"That obvious?" Nick replied.

"Well, I'm your girlfriend, so that kinda means I'm sorta in tune with how my boyfriend's feeling, even if it's in subtle ways," Alex giggled before softening her expression. "So, you can tell me what's wrong."

"I... I guess it's just jitters," Nick responded. "When I heard what James did to you and Mat, I guess I just had a bad flashback of what that clone of Kevin did to you. And it seems like my mind decided to be mean to me and put me in a nightmare that combined _that_ with what James did..."

Alex immediately leaned over so she could hug Nick. "It's okay, Nick," Alex proclaimed. "Remember, nightmares can't hurt you."

Nick stayed silent for a second before returning his girlfriend's embrace. "I must have done something real awesome to get such an amazing girlfriend, huh?" Nick teased.

"You sure did," Alex giggled, giving Nick a kiss as they fell back into the world of dreams.

**9:09 AM – Spies' Beach House**

After everyone had gotten up in the morning and had some breakfast, Nick and Mat told their girls they'd be outside at the pool if they were needed; that was music to the girls' ears. As for Haruka and the others, they said they'd be at the pool, too, but a little later. Sam then motioned to Clover and Alex and they followed her upstairs; they had to get their bathing suits anyway.

"So, how do you wanna play this, Sammy?" Alex asked as Sam opted to change in the shower.

Clover and Alex could see Sam's swimsuit come down from the shower rung and being replaced by her PJs as Sam gave her answer.

"Once everyone's ready, we'll all head downstairs together," Sam answered.

"And since Nick will be outside, too, our plan will work better than we think," Clover added. "But this is one time I wish I have someone."

"Not to worry, Clover," said Sam, coming out dressed in her green bathing suit. "You and I can split Mat if you want."

"Hey, don't fret, Clover," Alex replied. "I know you'll find one soon enough. Take it as a promise from your bestie."

Meanwhile, Nick and Mat were standing outside, taking in the nice sunny day at the pool.

"You're not bothered at all after the last mission?" Nick asked Mat about being at the pool.

"No not really," said Mat. "Well, maybe a little bit, but not significant enough to keep me away from here."

The two boys felt good about being home, and sure liked seeing the sun, too after the last mission.

"That was some race you showed us last night," Nick said to Mat.

"Well, thanks," said Mat. "Glad to see you guys understood why I considered Chad Reed my savior. I told Sam this, but I was almost on my way out from Supercross after Jeremy McGrath unexpectedly retired. Obviously I was really crushed by that happening; I put all my hopes on Chad Reed and although he came up short of the 2003 Supercross title, he practically filled every void in my book."

"Dawn certainly hit it on the head when she said that racing's a part of you," Nick quipped.

"Yeah," Mat said back. "Just like how Sam's a part of me, and Alex is a part of you – and everyone else here for that matter."

"You got that right," said Sam from behind the boys.

Nick and Mat saw them and were surprised.

"What's... going on?" Mat asked as he and Nick saw the smug smiles on their faces.

"I don't know, bro," Nick said.

Oddly enough, Melissa, Dawn, and Haruka were upstairs on the balcony and caught wind of what the spies were about to do; Britney, Nozomi, and May were walking outside, too and saw, too and were lucky to bring their phones with them to get this on video.

(Written by **The Blue Time Ranger**)

**("Heart Moving" by Misae Takamatsu plays)**

"Okay, I'll probably field the obvious question," Nick stated. "What's going on _here_?"

"Long story short," Sam proclaimed. "We wanted to surprise you guys."

"It really got us in the feels when you said you really liked looking out for us, Mat," Alex continued. "So we decided to surprise the two of you once we were finished with ol' whats-his-face."

"After all, that's what best friends do, right?" Clover giggled.

As the three spies joined the two boys in the pool, Nozomi and May were filming the moment from far away.

"Make sure you've got a good viewpoint, May," Nozomi stated, adjusting her phone to make sure she was getting her own good shot.

"What do you think I've been _doing_ this whole time?" May shot back. "Camera work is harder than it looks sometimes. Now I know how all those posh movie-makers feel."

"Those two boys are _really_ lucky, you know that?" Britney quipped. "They found great girlfriends so quickly. Here's hoping the rest of us will be that lucky someday, huh?"

Nick couldn't help but sigh happily as the group of five enjoyed their closeness, with Alex to his left, Sam to Mat's right, and Clover in the middle of it all. "Really, it feels like we should have done something like this a loooooooooong time ago," Nick admitted.

"Preaching the truth there," Alex giggled. "We just wanted to remind you guys of what you've got."

"And we _definitely_ appreciate it," Mat replied.

As Alex leaned in to kiss Nick on the cheek, Nick's eyes caught wind of May holding her phone up, no doubt recording this scene.

Deciding to keep up the illusion for just a moment longer, Nick looked back at Alex.

"So..." Nick quipped.

"Yes?" Alex replied.

"I was wondering... did you wanna go out for dinner sometime soon, when we've got a break in our duties? You know, just the two of us?" Nick asked his girlfriend. "I know this really cool place downtown."

"Aw, Nick, you don't even have to ask! It's a _deal_!" Alex proclaimed, hugging Nick tightly.

"Sounds like they're having fun," Clover giggled.

"No kidding," Mat answered. "Honestly, I'd like to take you out to dinner sometime soon, too, Sam."

"Oh, Mat, I'd love to," Sam replied.

During all this, Nick stealthily raised his free right hand (as Alex was currently holding onto his left arm), said hand enveloped in a soft yellow glow.

May squeaked in surprise as she saw her phone lift itself out of her hands, then slowly float over to the nearby table and place itself down on it.

"Well, I guess that ends that," May giggled.

"Hey, be grateful he didn't smash it," Nozomi replied. "He did that to some idiot who filmed me and Nick having a moment a while ago."

"Really?" Britney gasped. "He actually smashed a phone?"

"Well, honestly, Nick was just miffed that the guy interrupted a private moment," Nozomi admitted. "Also, he was a reporter for the school news, and he was... a bit vindictive, shall we say."

"Well, _spill_!" May exclaimed. "I _gotta_ hear this!"

Nick looked back at Alex, then towards Sam, Clover and Mat, a wide smile highlighting his face.

"Gotta appreciate moments like this," Nick stated.

"Definitely," Clover responded.

The five spies simply enjoyed their time in the pool, glad to still be together after their recent caper.

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

_~Totally Spies: Secrets Near and Dear~_

_~The End~_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**Author's Notes from Mat49324: **Another fun Totally Spies story is done. I'm still kicking myself to why I ever lost interest in the show around '07. Like Nick, I totally despised James myself the first time I'd watched season 1's _Evil Boyfriend_. Anyway, now that _Secrets Near and Dear_ is complete, we're looking forward to our next project. We do hope you enjoyed this just as much as we did going through with all this.

**Author's Notes from The Blue Time Ranger:** And another adventure is wrapped up! Honestly, this one felt quite cathartic, considering how much Mat and I hated James. Seriously, when I was only fourteen, seeing that episode for the first time, all I could say to my television was "PLEASE BEAT HIS ASS, SPIES". Anyways, flashback over.

Next time on what I'm now calling "_Totally Spies: The New Adventures_", we're getting into some shenanigans with idol singers and j-pop and all that jazz, on the next adventure, _Totally Spies: Idol Hands_, which can be found on _my _profile when it's out. In the meantime, enjoy this preview, and see you next mission!

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Woooooooooooooooooooow!" May exclaimed as she gazed at the gigantic stadium they were currently walking through. "This place is AMAZING! In all my years, I _never_ thought I'd even _see_ a place like this, much less get front-row seats to its main event!"

"Yeah, they put a lot of work into the venues for our events," Marnie admitted as she led the spies through the stadium. "Sometimes I feel it's a little _too _extravagant for just an idol singer, but the others loved it."

"So, where did you say the kidnappings first started?" Sam asked.

"It was actually in this stadium," Marnie answered. "Right at the end of my group's last concert, the lights went out and Ruri had just... _vanished_ into thin air. Everyone in the crowd thought it was just part of the show, but we knew better. Ruri would _never_ just ditch us like that."

"So you figured something had happened to her," Mat replied. "No offense, Marnie, but isn't it weird to automatically assume it was a kidnapping?"

Marnie just laughed teasingly. "No offense taken, Mat. I've known Ruri for most of my life, and she'd always at least tell me where she's going if she had to take off somewhere."

"You're gonna learn pretty quickly, Mat, that the idol industry can be _brutal_ in Japan," May proclaimed. "Trust me, with all the exposes I've read on the shelf life of certain old-school idol groups, it can get nasty quickly."

Before Mat could respond, the lights in the immediate area cut out completely, swallowing Marnie and the spies in darkness.

"Hey, who's there?!" Nick shouted, his psychic aura flaring to life around him.

_To be continued in Totally Spies: Idol Hands..._


End file.
